You can subscribe for FREE to get most of my content delivered to your inbox. A PAID subscription is $7 a month or $70 a year, and it gets you access to ALL of my stuff (about 35% more). Why subscribe? Because now more than ever, you need someone calling balls and strikes, and who isn’t owned by ANYONE.
You can also listen to this post on our podcast feed, So, Does It Matter? SPOKEN. It is available on your favorite podcast app. And here.
🕒 1 hour 25 minutes
You can see the chapters below with timestamps if you want to jump to specific areas of interest.
If you missed this morning’s live discussion, the full replay is now available.
I was joined by Lance Christensen of the California Policy Center and political strategist Matt Klink for a wide-ranging look at California’s primary election results — from the Governor’s race to Los Angeles politics to congressional contests and key ballot measures.
As I noted at the start of the broadcast, California is still very much in the “fifth or sixth inning” of election counting. Millions of ballots remain to be processed statewide, so no serious analysis should pretend every race is finished.
But the early returns already tell us a lot.
Steve Hilton appears to have gotten the fall matchup he wanted against Xavier Becerra. Tom Steyer’s expensive campaign badly underperformed. Republicans appear likely to have a real top-of-the-ticket candidate in November, which matters not just for the Governor’s race, but for turnout in competitive congressional and legislative contests.
We also spent a lot of time on Los Angeles, where Spencer Pratt has turned what could have been a dull mayoral campaign into one of the most fascinating political stories in the country. Karen Bass is still the favorite, but Pratt has already forced the race to revolve around homelessness, public safety, city dysfunction, and whether Los Angeles voters are ready to keep rewarding failure.
We also discussed Democratic Socialists in Los Angeles politics, key City Attorney and City Council races, congressional races to watch, and tax measures that may become major fights heading into November.
CHAPTERS
00:00 — Why California Is Still In The “Sixth Inning” Of Election Counting
04:30 — How Many Ballots Remain Outstanding?
08:00 — Steve Hilton, Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer And The Governor’s Race
15:00 — Can Hilton Make California Competitive?
22:00 — Matt Klink Joins The Discussion
28:00 — Spencer Pratt Shakes Up The Los Angeles Mayor’s Race
36:45 — L.A. City Attorney, City Council And The Democratic Socialists
45:30 — Congressional And Legislative Races Across California
61:00 — San Diego Politics And Key Legislative Fights
70:00 — Tax Measures And The November Anti-Tax Dynamic
82:00 — Final Thoughts: California’s Long Count Continues
Thank you to everyone who joined live, commented, and helped make the conversation better.
Now we wait for California’s slow-motion election count to continue — possibly right up until we are buying hamburgers and fireworks for the Fourth of July.
