Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics For The Week Ending 3/6 - Who is the Biggest Loser?

Every week I'm closely following politics here in the Golden State. This is a weekly feature where we call out ten winners and/or losers. Actually, I tend to find more losers... Just saying.

Below is our Top Ten List of Winners and Losers for the Week. This feature is available to all of our subscribers, free and paid. Under the paywall, however, is our “Worst Week In California” special feature. It's me, in rare form, on video, going on why someone’s week sucked. Pithy? You bet! We also hit two-runners up this week.

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⏱️ 5-minute read

This is where we examine state and local politics (or national issues with a California angle) and highlight individuals (or groups) who have achieved notable success or had a particularly challenging week. I strive to call balls and strikes fairly and objectively, which sometimes makes it difficult to assemble this list.

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Top Winners & Losers This Week in California Politics

⬇️ LOSER: IAN CALDERON, DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE

He entered the race for California governor with the promise of representing a “new generation of leadership.” He left it with barely anyone noticing. Former Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon quietly exited the already crowded Democratic field this week and endorsed Congressman Eric Swalwell. In a race filled with better-known candidates and bigger political brands, Calderon never gained traction, resources, or meaningful statewide attention. In the end, he got into the race as an unknown — and managed to leave it the same way.

⬇️ LOSER: SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL (MINUS COUNCILMEMBER RAUL CAMPILLO)

Eight members of the nine-member San Diego City Council have decided the solution to the city’s housing challenges is — predictably — another tax. Their latest idea is a vacancy tax that begins around $8,000 a year and can climb far higher depending on the value of the property. Policies like this sound satisfying politically but rarely deliver results. Cities that have tried vacancy taxes have seen minimal impact on housing supply while creating new bureaucracy and enforcement headaches. Instead of confronting the real drivers of California’s housing shortage, the council is once again reaching for a tax hike.

⬆️ WINNERS: SENATOR TONY STRICKLAND, ASSEMBLYMAN CARL DEMAIO, AND THE ORANGE COUNTY LINCOLN CLUB

Supporters of a California voter ID initiative turned in more than 1.35 million signatures this week — far exceeding the number required to qualify the measure for the ballot. That milestone reflects months of organizing and grassroots mobilization led by advocates State Senator Tony Strickland, Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, and the Orange County Lincoln Club. With the qualification hurdle almost cleared, the debate now moves from signature gathering to a statewide campaign, where voter identification requirements will likely become one of the most prominent political issues on the ballot.

⬆️ WINNER: KEVIN KILEY, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE

Rather than launching a bruising Republican-on-Republican primary against longtime conservative Congressman Tom McClintock, this Northern California lawmaker chose a different path — announcing he will run in the newly drawn 6th Congressional District instead. The move avoids an intraparty battle that would have divided Republicans and drained resources while giving the GOP its best chance to compete in a difficult Sacramento-area seat. By stepping aside and uniting the party behind McClintock in his district, the congressman demonstrated strategic discipline that strengthens Republicans heading into 2026.

⬇️ LOSERS: DISNEYLAND MAGA INVASION ORGANIZERS AND “RAZA INVASION” PROTESTERS

Amusement parks exist for families to escape everyday life — not to serve as backdrops for political activism. Whether it is conservative activists staging a “MAGA invasion” or progressive groups organizing counter-protests, dragging partisan politics into places like Disneyland only deepens the divisions already tearing at the country. In an era when Americans are politically polarized enough as it is, the last thing we need is activists trying to turn spaces meant for fun and shared experiences into ideological battlegrounds. Leave the politics outside the park gates.

⬇️ LOSERS: CYNTHIA RAYGOZA AND ASHLEIGH BROWN

Protesting government policy is protected in America. But following a federal law enforcement officer to his home, livestreaming his location, and encouraging others to show up crosses the line from protest into intimidation. A federal jury agreed, convicting Cynthia Raygoza and Ashleigh Brown of felony stalking after they followed an ICE agent from a Los Angeles federal facility to his home and broadcast the encounter online. Their actions forced the agent’s family — including young children — to move from their home. Political activism never justifies targeting someone’s family or home.

⬆️ WINNER: LETICIA CASTILLO, CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLYWOMAN

For years, the progressive supermajority in Sacramento has pushed California law further and further into ideological territory on gender issues, with almost no one willing to challenge the orthodoxy. Assemblywoman Leticia Castillo is doing exactly that. Her bill, AB 1998, would require bathrooms, locker rooms, and similar intimate spaces to be separated based on biological sex. The legislation will face long odds in the State Capitol, but Castillo deserves credit for saying something many Californians still believe: biological sex is real and privacy in sex-segregated spaces matters.

⬇️ LOSER: KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT

California taxpayers are footing the bill for security while Kamala Harris travels the country promoting her new book — a private, profit-making venture. Reports indicate California Highway Patrol officers are accompanying Harris on the tour, even as the total cost to taxpayers remains undisclosed. Security for a former vice president is understandable. But asking Californians to subsidize protection for what is essentially a commercial book tour raises serious questions about priorities and accountability in a state already struggling with massive budget challenges.

⬇️ LOSER: SHAKIR KHAN, FORMER LODI CITY COUNCILMEMBER

Tampering with elections is about as serious a political offense as it gets — and this former Lodi councilman has now been sentenced to three years in jail after pleading no contest to a staggering list of election fraud charges tied to the 2020 election. Prosecutors said he registered fictitious voters, filed false election documents, and attempted to vote multiple times. Investigators found dozens of suspicious voter registrations connected to him, and witnesses said he pressured people to vote for him or even signed ballots himself. The conviction is a reminder that voter fraud does happen — and carries serious consequences.

⬇️ LOSER: RUSTY HICKS, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN

The head of the California Democratic Party publicly urged some unnamed Democratic candidates for governor to reconsider their campaigns — a remarkable admission that his party’s field may be weak. But instead of actually fixing the problem, Hicks issued a vague public letter and hoped the right people would take the hint. That’s not leadership. If the field is truly this bad, the job of a party chairman is to clear it and recruit stronger candidates. As anyone who has played Scrabble knows, sometimes your tiles are so terrible the only smart move is to throw them all back and draw new ones. But then again, Gavin Newsom has left the state so thoroughly jacked up that it’s easy to see how that might materially impact candidate recruitment.

⬇️ LOSER: JANISSE QUIÑONES, CEO, LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER

The head of the nation’s largest municipal utility is stepping down as the fallout continues from the disastrous Palisades Fire response. A court ruling now threatens LADWP with potentially billions of dollars in liability tied to allegations that water infrastructure failures worsened the blaze — including reports that a major reservoir serving the area sat empty while firefighters battled the flames. The controversy has fueled outrage across Los Angeles, and the resignation of LADWP’s highly paid chief only underscores the enormous political and financial consequences still unfolding.

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Okay, for those of you keeping count, it was actually eleven winners and losers this week!

Now below the paywall is the BFD - my weekly pithy video where I nail the two runners-up for the Worst Week In California Politics — and then I let the Big Loser have it! What? Not a paid subscriber? Try the free week trial below! And see the video now!

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