A California voter casts a ballot. (Photo: Vepar5)OPINION: In a fairly rare occurrence, this year’s primary election in California could actually matter in terms of who becomes the Republican Party’s nominee. California had a chance of being relevant with March primaries in 1996, 2000 and 2004; however, Bob Dole and George W. Bush already had largely sealed their deals.
Paul Mitchell (Photo By Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)Political Data Inc’s Paul Mitchell joins John Howard and Tim Foster to chat about new numbers from the Secretary of State and the effects of purging the voter rolls. He also digs into a hot topic – how the party delegate system works, with a look at the historical evolution of the primary process. All that, AND more: his connection to the Zodiac Killer!
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, prior to a presidential candidate debate. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shuitterstock)Field Poll: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s once commanding lead over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has declined to just six points. Clinton is currently the choice of 47% of likely voters in this state’s Democratic presidential primary, while 41% now favor Sanders. Clinton’s current six-point lead in California is only about half the margins found in each of the last two Field Polls conducted in January and October.
GOP presidential contender Donald Trump at a campaign event. (Photo: a katz, via Shutterstock)The latest Field Poll finds businessman Donald Trump leading Texas Senator Ted Cruz by seven points among likely voters in this state’s Republican presidential primary. Trump is currently the choice of 39% of this state’s likely GOP voters, while 32% support Cruz. Ohio Governor John Kasich trails in third at 18%, while 11% are undecided or intend to vote for someone else.
Voters and potential voters at a political rally. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)The California Voter File is a massive and constantly changing dataset. At the end of the 2012 election cycle, it grew to over 18 million voters. But with recent purges from county election files, it has dropped down to its current 17 million. As we near a major statewide election, we expect to see an uptick in registration and growth of the overall voter file. The state’s registration is likely — again — to exceed 18 million, and potentially even reach 19 million by November.
A presidential campaign event at the Oxnard train station during an earlier election. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock) Brace yourselves, Californians. The violent, vicious and volatile Republican political campaigns that have destroyed civility across parts of the South and Midwest are increasingly likely to cross the Sierra and spread vitriol in the Golden State.
Demonstrators in Los Angeles advocating for less restrictive immigration laws. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)OPINION: A lot of well-meaning, smart and politically savvy professionals cringe at the idea of putting together Spanish language advertisements. In seminars and forums they twist in circles trying to convince the audience and themselves that Hispanics can be easily reached in English. While the reasons may vary, in reality these are just excuses to mask an underlying concern: the fear of screwing up.
Debbie Ziegler, mother of Brittany Maynard, speaks to the media in Sacramento after the passage in September of legislation that would allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives. Gov. Brown signed the bill Monday.(Photo: AP/Carl Costas)Gov. Jerry Brown, in one of the most emotional moments of his long political career, signed into law a bill allowing people near death to end their lives with lethal drugs supplied by a physician. “The crux of the matter is whether the state of California should continue to make it a crime for a dying person to end his life, no matter how great his pain or suffering,” Brown wrote in his official signing message.
A campaign stop in Oxnard during a presidential contest. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)Republicans have created a political mosh pit featuring 36 declared candidates and filled with no shortage of pointed invective. Of the 36 Republicans, 17 are considered serious contenders. As usual, those contenders have descended on early primary and caucus states, chumming through New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina in search of support and generating plenty of news along the way. At the moment, in California, they are only chumming for money.
Congressional districts in the Inland Empire, approved by California's redistricting commission in 2011. (Map: Ballotpedia)ANALYSIS: A case before the U.S. Supreme Court, with arguments set to be heard on March 2, could reduce the role of the State Redistricting Commission, invalidate the 2011 Congressional lines, and hand to the legislature the immediate responsibility of redrawing 53 valuable seats.