CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: KQED’s Marisa Lagos joins us for a look back at the biggest stories of the past year. Lagos is a correspondent for KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk and co-hosts a weekly show and podcast, Political Breakdown. We discuss Governor Newsom’s year, hot labor Summer, the success of the YIMBY movement, the death of Dianne Feinstein and arrival of Laphonza Butler, and much, much more.
Kevin McCarthy, image via Associated PressCalifornia Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s stunning announcement that he will resign from Congress before his term ends has sent the state’s political class and those who cover it into an uproar. The possibilities of who might seek to replace the former House Speaker are numerous, and names of conceivable candidates began flying seemingly moments after his announcement became public. But for now, McCarthy still holds the cards for how exactly that all goes down.
Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button. Image via YouTubeKevin McCarthy is the Benjamin Button of California politics. Began his career as an adult. Ended it as a baby.
Image by Consolidated News PhotosWhen U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein died in late September, there was immediate speculation as to who Gov. Gavin Newsom would appoint to fill out much of the remainder of her term. But when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced today that he will be leaving Congress at the end of the year, the talk has all been about who will run in the special election to replace him. Wait. Why wouldn’t the governor appoint a temporary replacement for McCarthy too? Today, 37 states have opted to temporarily fill Senate vacancies through gubernatorial appointment. The remaining 13 have not taken that option; they may only fill vacancies through special elections, like in the House.
PODCAST: The California Republican Party Convention kicks off Friday in Anaheim with a luncheon featuring former president and current GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. So, what to expect? We asked Mike Madrid, a longtime Republican strategist and expert on Latino politics who denounced the party’s embrace of Trumpism in 2016. He joined us to talk about the state of the state Republican Party and about where the Republican Party is nationally.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Sacramento political communications expert Roger Salazar has deep roots in Democratic politics, but Salazar has even deeper roots in the off-roading/Jeeper community: The earliest known photo of his father shows Salazar senior in front of the family’s 1946 Willys Jeep. We asked him about his experiences, and how he navigates the trickiest terrain on the trail: the largely right-leaning politics of many of his pals in the Jeeper community.
Former Congressman Bill Thomas at a political event in Bakersfield. <(Photo: Screen capture, YouTube.)Former Republican Congressman Bill Thomas, who capped a 28-year House career as chair of the Ways and Means Committee, has been out of Congress for more than a decade. His name is no longer familiar outside of his Bakersfield base. But two of his protégés are very well known – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who served as Thomas’ district director, and Oversight Committee Chair Devin Nunes, who Thomas encouraged to run for Congress and who nurtured his career after he got there.