Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics This Week
Each week we pick ten people or groups that had a particularly good or bad week, and label them winners or losers! This is for the week ending 9/19/25!
Below is our Top Ten List of Winners and Losers for the Week. This feature available to all of our subscribers, free and paid. However, at the bottom of the column, past the firewall is something extra, just for paid subscribers as a thank you!
⏱️ 6 minute read
This is where we look over state and local politics (or national with a California angle), and highlight people (or groups) that have had some solid wins, or who have just had a really rough week. If you want to make your own suggestions — just send in an email (you can just hit reply to any of these e-mails) and suggest away! I promise to keep confidential the people making suggestions! Here we go…
Top Ten Winners & Losers This Week in California Politics
⬇️ LOSER: JIMMY KIMMEL
Lefty late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s unfunny monologue tanked his career as ABC/Disney slapped him with an indefinite suspension after he bashed the “MAGA gang” for allegedly politicizing Charlie Kirk’s assassination—claiming they were desperately distancing the killer from their ranks. Local affiliates like Nexstar and Sinclair dropped the show amid backlash, with the parent company finally axing it. Kimmel’s “indefinite” benching? More like permanent timeout for bad taste.
He’s not a Californian so he doesn’t get his own paragraph, but I give an extra “loser” award to Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commissioner, who pretty inappropriately (as a regulator) blasting Kimmel’s remarks as “truly sick” and “the sickest conduct possible” — threatening ABC/Disney with regulatory action to enforce “public interest” standards. No one in Carr’s position should wield government muscle to silence satire. Carr should have to remediate with an online class on the First Amendment. Megyn Kelly let Kimmel have it between the eyeballs. Here’s a great take from Dave Portnoy of Barstool sports. Oh yeah, here’s some great advice from the late Johnny Carson for all late night talk show hosts.
⬇️ LOSER: (FORMER) SF SUPERVISOR JOEL ENGARDIO
San Francisco’s Sunset District delivered a historic smackdown, recalling Supervisor Joel Engardio with 65% yes votes in Tuesday’s special election—the first time a sitting supe has been booted this way. His fatal sin? Championing Proposition K to shutter the Great Highway for the beloved Sunset Dunes park, igniting resident fury over traffic chaos. Mayor Daniel Lurie now picks a temp; full election hits June 2026. Engardio concedes gracefully but ruefully: “Shorter than expected”—park stays, politician goes. Oof.
⬆️ WINNER: SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY SUPERVISOR JOHN PESCHONG
GOP political consultant (and former business partner with Supervisor Peschong) Matt Rexroad was giving a speech where he wanted to demonstrate to some local elected officials that they may not be as well known as they think. To prove his point he went into Peschong’s district and started offering gift card’s to Peschong’s constituents. This is awesome. When you get towards the end of the video, you will hear the answer of one constituent in particular, and know why John got a winner on this one!
⬇️ LOSER: JONATHAN PERKINS, UCLA DIRECTOR OF RACE & EQUITY
The University of California at Los Angeles takes a black eye as its Director of Race and Equity, Jonathan Perkins, lands on administrative leave for gleefully posting about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s shocking murder—declaring it’s “OKAY to be happy” and admitting he “felt no grief” over the death of an “avowed white nationalist.” Perkins, defending his inflammatory remarks as personal First Amendment-protected speech, sparked backlash and death threats, forcing UCLA to sideline him amid the uproar. A DEI debacle that exposes campus hypocrisy on tolerance—talk about equity fail. Here are his actual posts on BlueSky…
⬆️ WINNER: OC ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE GRACEY VAN DER MARK
Former Huntington Beach Mayor and Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark is the clear front-runner to succeed Diane Dixon in the coastal 72nd Assembly District. Hugely popular in Huntington Beach, the district’s largest city, she’s locked down endorsements from nearly every Republican councilmember in the area—including all seven in Newport Beach, a rare show of support across city lines. She’s also dominated fundraising, and this week scored the ultimate prize: an overwhelming early endorsement from the Orange County Republican Party, a political powerhouse that raises millions and mobilizes a formidable grassroots army. The impact was immediate—within a day, her top rival, Seal Beach Councilman Nathan Steele, exited the race and endorsed her.
⬇️ LOSERS: CALIFORNIANS WHO USE GAS AND PAY ELECTRIC BILLS
Governor Newsom’s latest Sacramento sleight-of-hand? Extending the dreadful “Cap and Trade” scam—rebranded “Cap and Invest” for the gullible—through 2045, locking in another 20 years of jacking up gas and electric bills to the tune of billions for families already squeezed dry. Sure, it funnels $1B yearly to Newsom’s pet high-speed rail boondoggle and another $1B for lawmakers’ pork-barrel fantasies, but everyday Californians? Stuck footing the bill for this greenwashed wealth transfer to cronies and utilities. Affordability my foot—it’s a progressive tax on the working stiff.
⬇️ LOSER: GAVIN “HIKING. WILL CALL BACK.” NEWSOM
California’s golden boy takes a hit in Kamala Harris’s new memoir 107 Days, where she recounts frantic calls after Biden’s 2024 exit. Newsom, her longtime San Francisco rival, dodged her outreach with a terse “Hiking. Will call back”—a promise he never kept, as Harris pointedly notes in parentheses. Despite his quick public endorsement hours later, the snub underscores tensions among 2028 Dem hopefuls. Ouch.
⬆️ WINNER: CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS
When the dust settled after California’s legislative session ended last weekend, non-classroom-based charter schools emerged unscathed as AB 84—the California Teachers Association’s aggressive push to slash funding by up to 30%, triple oversight fees, and cap growth—failed to pass. Amid fierce opposition from families and advocates, lawmakers opted for compromise: approving a milder anti-fraud bill, SB 414, while tabling AB 84’s harsher elements for January. A lifeline for homeschoolers, special needs students, and flexible learners!
⬇️ LOSER: CONGRESSMAN DAVE MIN (D-IRVINE)
Fresh off a razor-thin 2024 win, U.S. Rep. Dave Min (D-CA-47) doubles down on recklessness: He refuses to delete his debunked X post claiming Charlie Kirk’s assassin, Tyler Robinson, was “MAGA”—racking up 2 million views despite Utah prosecutors’ evidence of Robinson’s radical-left ties, including anti-fascist bullet engravings and texts raging against Kirk’s “hatred.” Min dodged reporters and stonewalled questions (video); his office won’t comment.
⬆️ WINNER: SUPERSTAR ATTORNEY JULIE HAMILL
California Patriot Profile awardee Julie Hamill launches into federal stardom as Assistant United States Attorney for Civil Rights in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. Reporting directly to acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli—a Trump ally and former Assemblyman, Hamill will champion constitutional rights, building on her legacy at the California Policy Center and her strong pro-liberty and pro-family record on the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School Board. With Assistant Attorney Harmeet Dhillon (another profile star) heading the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, this powerhouse trio vows fierce defense for Californians’ civil rights. Game on!
Now that you see what this column is all about, keep your eyes peeled. If you have someone to suggest to be considered for featuring in this column next week, drop me a note. I will keep confidential the names of those who make the suggestions!
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