Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. (Photo: Rendon's Twitter feed.)Timing is crucial in politics, and the battle over the Assembly speakership is no exception. The clock is ticking. If Rendon continues through the end of the current two-year session, then any change in the speakership will be decided in the next session, following the November elections, when all 80 Assembly seats are up for election.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at a rally in Ventura County during his 2016 run for president. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock.The final Capitol Weekly tracking poll is out. And it is finishing off with a bang. Last month’s leader in California’s Democratic presidential primary, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, is extending his lead, now up to 29%. The surge is seemingly drawing straight out of Massachusetts Sen.Elizabeth Warren who drops to 16%, just above the all-important 15% threshold.
The House membership in the 114th Congress. (Photo: Wikipedia)Nine races in November could determine which party controls the House for the next decade—and the map looks good for Democrats. This fall, Democrats face a bad map in the Senate and are in a tough battle to take back the House. But the party is on offense in nine crucial contests around the country that could determine control of Congress for the next decade.
A rally for Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders in Irvine, May 22. (Photo: mikeledray, via Shutterstock)Polls showed Californians ‘Feeling the Bern,’ shortly before the state’s June 7 primary. Bernie Sanders had pulled even or surged slightly ahead of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential race after barnstorming from Chico to Chula Vista. But early results on Election Day showed Clinton crushing Sanders by more than 20 percentage points, a margin that later narrowed to 12.6 points.
Patty Lopez and Raul Bocanegra (Illustration by Tim Foster/Capitol Weekly)If someone comes to you and says, “I won my election because I was the first name on the ballot,” you should immediately check for the tinfoil hat — and then show them the door. The notion that a democratic election for something as important as a legislative or congressional seat, or even a city council, can be decided by the order on a ballot is the domain of wild conspiracy theorists. Until it actually happens.
A California voter casts a ballot. (Photo: Vepar5)OPINION: In some states, a narrow margin of victory triggers an automatic statewide recount at no cost to the candidate. California does not have such a provision, and I believe we need one.