U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont addresses a May 2016 rally in Ventura. (Photo: Joseph Sohm) For California’s “Berniecrats,” the fire’s not out yet. Nearly a year after propelling Sen. Bernie Sanders to a close second finish against Hillary Clinton in California’s presidential primary, some of his most ardent supporters are still organizing – this time within the state Democratic Party itself.
A fire truck races to an emergency in downtown Los Angeles, 2016. (Photo Alexandre Moraes, via Shutterstock)FairWarning: November’s presidential contest was bizarre in many ways, but there is one peculiarity that pundits haven’t pounced on: The states with the worst rates of traffic deaths in the country went solidly for Donald Trump while Hillary Clinton swept states with the lowest fatality rates. California was 10th from the bottom in its traffic fatality rate — about 8.11 deaths per 100,000 people. The highest was Wyoming, with 24.74 fatalities per 100,000.
(Illustration: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)From neighbors to family members to local coffee shop baristas, the number one question I’ve received since Nov. 8 is “How did that happen?” Donald Trump’s come-from-behind win shocked about everyone in the political world. Even his own political team. Even Hillary Clinton’s own political team.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, Gov. Brown's pick for state attorney general. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP)Congressman Xavier Becerra, the Democrats’ highest-ranking Latino in the House and a 24-year veteran of Congress, was appointed Thursday by Gov. Brown to replace state Attorney General Kamala Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 8. Becerra, 58, who will be the first Latino to serve as California’s top law enforcement officer, will formally take over the attorney general’s office next month, when Harris leaves for Washington, D.C.
Political strategist Mike Madrid at his Sacramento office. (Photo: Tim Foster)Capitol Weekly chats with veteran GOP strategist Mike Madrid, who offers his thoughts on the impact of the Latino vote in the 2016 election — and how and why the ‘sleeping giant’ failed to deliver for Hillary Clinton. While the numbers this cycle were good nationally for Donald Trump, and for Democrats in California, Madrid has cautionary words for both parties moving forward.
GOP presidential contender Donald Trump at a rally in Boca Raton, Florida. ((Photo: Windover Way Photography)We found that no matter what Trump has said – be it the sexually explicit and aggressive comments released before the second debate, or his statement in Wednesday’s third and final debate that he would not commit to accepting the result of the election – his support here in California has remained very consistent.
Hillary and BuffyWith the election just four weeks away, Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster sat down with Buffy Wicks, Democratic strategist and California State Director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 primary campaign.
Hollywood Boulevard at dusk. (Photo: Sean Pavone, via Shutterstock)Hollywood and Sacramento are not cities that normally leap into our thoughts at the same time. Sacramento is leafy streets and politics and scorching heat. Hollywood is, well, Hollywood.
Donald Trump, left, stands with Hillary Clinton at the first presidential debate Monday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (Photo: AP/Evan Vucci)Within the wide Clinton debate win numbers, we can see variations among key portions of the electorate. The most striking is the partisan breakdown. For Democrats, the Clinton performance was an affirming event – with 90% of registered Democrats saying that she won the debate. Among Republicans, this was flipped, with 57% saying that Trump won.
A delegate at the Democratic National Convention passes by a group of pro-Bernie Sanders protesters. (Photo: Brad Bailey)Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination for president Thursday as the nation’s first female nominee of a major party, a historic moment captured in a blaze of pomp and color. It was the culmination of four days of speeches that targeted the national convention’s fundamental theme — unity. But in the California delegation — the largest of the 50 states — unity at times was a rare commodity.