Kern County leaders address 2024 mistakes, share changes in messaging for 2026 Midterm election
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — If you think it's too early to talk about the 2026 Midterm Election, it's not — at least not for our local electeds.
Kern County Democrats returned from a weekend in Anaheim, meeting with fellow party leaders and voters to discuss directions for the 2026 Midterms.
It was a weekend of passion and like-mindedness at the California Democratic Party State Convention in Orange County.
It was a convention of 4,000 Democrats, but why should all voters care?
This convention sets the stage for 2026 — who may be running and what issues, like the economy, could be front and center.
'Will you stand up to Donald Trump?' said an energetic Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), one of the speakers over the weekend.
In an interview with 17 News reflecting on the convention, Kern Democratic Party Chair Christian Romo stated, 'This go around was really a come to Jesus moment. We came together not just as friends, but also to say, what did we do wrong?'
The mass gathering was a reflection on the 2024 Presidential Election and a determined gearing up for the 2026 Midterm Election.
At center stage, a change in messaging.
'And how do we drive down the costs while also making sure that the deficit doesn't go higher? And making sure that all Californians have the right to thrive,' Romo noted.
Civil rights activist and local Democratic leader Dolores Huerta agreed.
'Sometimes people voted and not because of the political party, but they voted on these what we call the cultural issues,' she began.
'You have to think about your bread-and-butter issues, the things that are going to affect your family economically, things that are going to affect your family when it comes to their health. [The focus is] not whether someone wants to have an abortion, not whether somebody happens to be gay or transgender. These are the important issues. Economic issues are the important issues.'
Christian Romo and Dolores Huerta both said messaging in 2024 — like on healthcare and abortion — may not have appealed to the local voter base, albeit important topics nationally.
Take the always-contentious, could-go-either-way 22nd Congressional District race.
David Valadao, the Republican incumbent, has been reelected time and time again, despite the majority Latino, Democratic leaning district he represents.
Democratic challenger Rudy Salas has been unsuccessful twice in a row.
'And we lost it by a lot,' Romo said of that race's 2024 results. 'That's no secret about that.'
Democrats have not ruled out Salas for a third run.
'We'll see what Mr. Rudy Salas decides to do, and then we'll go from there,' Huerta said when asked about the race.
'All I can say about CD-22 is there's no permanent enemies in politics and there's no permanent friends. So, anything's at play,' Romo hinted.
Here's where the more progressive members of the party come into play.
Like Randy Villegas, the only candidate so far to have announced a run against Valadao. JH: Neel Sannappa a senior organizer with the progressive Working Families Party says change is coming — perhaps more unity between the progressives and moderates of the party.
'[The convention] was an acknowledgment of the fact that the party has gone kind of far away from the working class, kind of far away from the base,' said Sannappa. 'And we have a different view of how to approach politics. We want to stay with working families.'
Of party unity heading into the election, especially as Democrats will have to make endorsements of candidates, Sannappa stated, 'My goal right now is to bring the party together and to make sure that we can rally behind similar candidates and not have such an internal fight.'
Seats Democrats will have to defend in 2026 include Bakersfield City Council Ward 1, held by Eric Arias, as well as Ward 7, held by Manpreet Kaur.
State Senator Melissa Hurtado has filed an intent to run for reelection in 2026.
'Obviously, the Central Valley's always in play. It's a very moderate district, although solidly Dem for CD-22 and city and state and assembly races,' Romo explained of voter demographics. 'It's still a tossup because it's very moderate. It's very conservative leaning and very Latino.'
The 2026 primary will be on June 2nd.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
26 minutes ago
- Axios
Republicans worry DOGE cuts will sink them in Virginia governor's race
Republicans are increasingly worried that budget cuts by Elon Musk 's DOGE could cost them dearly in November's vote for Virginia governor — an early electoral test of President Trump 's policies. Why it matters: Virginia has one of the highest percentages of federal employees in the country — more than 5% of the state's workforce by some estimates — and Republicans' internal polls are starting to show the damage from tens of thousands of federal layoffs. Zoom in: The University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center has projected that 32,000 jobs could be lost in the state this year, many of them federal positions. "Northern Virginia is filled with people who suffered the consequences of the DOGE cuts, and it's hard to see them being sympathetic to a Republican candidate who supports the DOGE cuts," said Whit Ayers, a veteran Republican pollster. "I suspect this will be an albatross around the neck of every Republican candidate this year," said Virginia Republican Bill Bolling, a former lieutenant governor. By the numbers: A private poll done for the campaign of a statewide Republican candidate suggested that just 39% of voters had a favorable view of DOGE. Nearly half of voters surveyed said they knew of someone impacted by the DOGE cuts, according to results shared with Axios. The poll showed Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears trailing former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) by single digits, outside the margin of error. Between the lines: DOGE could especially hurt Earle-Sears' campaign for governor in Northern Virginia and Norfolk, sections of the state where huge segments of the population are federal workers or have jobs tied to the government. Those areas played a role in Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's win in 2021, when he cut into Democratic margins and improved on the GOP's performance in 2017. (Virginia governors can't succeed themselves, so Youngkin isn't allowed to run again.) The D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia are home to upper- and middle-income voters, many of whom have ties to the government and are particularly likely to vote. Even non-federal workers in those areas could be impacted by DOGE, given the role federal funding plays in driving the local economy. Flashback: Republicans already are comparing DOGE's potential impact on Virginia's 2025 election to that of the GOP-led government shutdown of 2013, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of government workers being placed on unpaid leave. Democrats swept the state's highest offices that year — an outcome many GOP strategists blamed on the shutdown. "Washington, D.C., politics have long shaped the outcome of Virginia off-year elections," Virginia-based GOP strategist Jimmy Keady said in a text to Axios. "With over 230,000 Virginians working in or around the federal government, especially in Northern Virginia and Norfolk, any proposal that threatens those jobs — like DOGE — turns into a high-stakes issue," he added. The other side: Democrats are making DOGE a centerpiece of their election playbook. Virginia's Democratic Party has been running ads highlighting Earle-Sears' comments accusing the media of overhyping the impact of DOGE cuts. Other Democratic commercials are linking Republican state legislative candidates to Musk. Behind the scenes: Youngkin has taken steps to try to soften the blow to the state's federal workers, launching a " Virginia Has Jobs" initiative aimed at helping laid-off workers find new positions. Reality check: Republicans say Earle-Sears has an uphill climb, even without DOGE. In every election since 1977 besides one, the state has elected a governor from the opposition party to the sitting president. Top GOP officials — including some close to Trump — have criticized Earle-Sears and her campaign. Chris LaCivita, Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager and a longtime player in Virginia politics, has called her team " amateurs." What they're saying: Peyton Vogel, a spokesperson for Earle-Sears, rejected the notion that federal cutbacks could hurt the GOP candidate.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
California shifts from Musk glee to Trump dread
The dissolution of the Donald Trump-Elon Musk marriage was enough, for a brief moment, to lift beleaguered California Democrats' spirits. But within 24 hours, the gleeful mood in this heavily Democratic state darkened amid sweeping immigration raids and reports the Trump administration was planning to yank funding from California. The swift reversal was a reminder that, for all the delight Democrats took in a public feud between the president and the world's richest man, a war of words on X is far less consequential than a hostile White House. Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders on Friday quickly returned to a familiar defensive crouch, condemning the White House's reported plan and escalating the standoff by threatening to withhold the money California sends to Washington. 'We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back,' Newsom said in a post on X. 'Maybe it's time to cut that off, @realDonaldTrump.' It was unclear on Friday what money the White House might rescind. A spokesperson said no decision had been made. Many Democrats had spent the previous day reveling in the extraordinary break between Trump and his former patron Musk, piling on in a cascade of snarky tweets, triumphant news hits and floor speeches. The joy was especially palpable in California, where Democrats watched Musk transform from a source of pride to a conservative nemesis eager to attack the state that helped make him. The dunking contest seemed to open new political possibilities, as Musk amplified Democrats' case against tariffs and the GOP 'megabill' being debated in Congress — two central features of the president's agenda. But the respite from unforgiving news cycles proved short-lived. And it vindicated warnings from some Democrats that the Trump-Musk feud was distracting from the more serious threats emanating from Washington. For Rep. Dave Min, who is preparing to defend a frontline Orange County seat that could help determine control of the House, Thursday was all about Musk: He excoriated the Tesla executive in a preplanned floor speech, and joined the mockery on X. On Friday, Min was scrambling to confront what he called a 'blatantly lawless' push to claw back funds. 'These cuts appear to be clearly and on their face illegal and motivated by vengeance and political retribution aimed at our state,' Min wrote in a letter to the White House. Rep. Jimmy Gomez went from tweaking Trump with a Taylor Swift meme to sounding the alarm about immigration arrests throughout Los Angeles, a resolutely Democratic county, that followed Trump's vow to target 'sanctuary' jurisdictions that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal authorities. Union officials said SEIU California President David Huerta was detained and injured during a protest of immigration raids, drawing condemnations from a broad swathe of elected officials (ICE did not respond to a request for comment). Californians were simultaneously rallying in San Francisco against federal plans to rename a naval ship named after the late gay-rights icon Harvey Milk. Against the backdrop of that multifront defensive, the feuding between Trump and Musk became a secondary concern, at best. Newsom passed on a chance to swipe at Musk, with whom he has a long and complicated relationship, telling reporters during an unrelated news conference on Thursday that he hoped people mesmerized by 'what Elon Musk tweeted today and what Trump said tomorrow can focus on what matters' — although Newsom's press office still used a Trump-Musk breakup reference to tease the news conference, Similarly, Rep. Laura Friedman called the Trump-Musk meltdown a distraction from the White House's agenda to remake the federal government. 'They are cutting health care from Americans, they are destroying people's ability to go to the doctor and get health care coverage, they are making life more expensive for everyday people through tariffs,' Friedman said. 'I hope people see through the entertainment value of this — it is funny, but this is harmful to our country in so many ways.' Few were laughing by Friday afternoon. Instead, leading California Democrats were once again girding for battle with an administration that has made a habit of threatening to block money for areas like wildfire recovery, education and law enforcement if California does not change its policies. 'We must look at every option, including withholding federal taxes,' Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in a BlueSky post.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ocasio-Cortez faces test of her political power
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) faces a test of her political influence after endorsing a progressive candidate in the New York City mayoral race. Ocasio-Cortez backed New York state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani on Thursday, pitching him as the best chance to upset former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the front-runner since before he entered the race. Her endorsement is sure to raise progressive hopes and give Mamdani a much-needed boost ahead of the June 24 primary. But it will also draw attention to the strength of her political clout as she positions herself as the next standard-bearer for the Democratic Party's progressive wing and possibly the party as a whole. 'She represents a younger, newer generation of Democratic voters,' said New York Democratic strategist Basil Smikle, adding that the movement she's led has been 'more forward looking with respect to the party, not just locally but nationally.' Observers of the Democratic primary for the mayor's race have been eagerly awaiting news of Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement for weeks. Reports indicated that the Bronx-area congresswoman has methodically reviewed polling and pitches from various candidates on how they plan to defeat Cuomo, who has dominated in name ID and polling. Among the more progressive candidates in the race, her support was coveted as one of the top leaders of the progressive wing since her own major upset win in 2018, making her the youngest woman elected to Congress. She was also credited with significantly improving Maya Wiley's chances of winning the Democratic nomination for mayor in 2021 as she gave an endorsement shortly before the primary then too. While Wiley ultimately lost to now-Mayor Eric Adams (D), her polling numbers jumped from single digits to make her a top contender after Ocasio-Cortez backed her. Ocasio-Cortez ultimately announced her endorsement of Mamdani in an interview with The New York Times the morning after the candidates faced off in the first debate of the race. She said Mamdani has made the best case that he can best Cuomo, showing a 'real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack.' Democrats said Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated her influence in past races in New York and could put it on display again. George Albro, a co-chair of the New York Progressive Action Network, noted her support for current mayoral candidate Brad Lander during his city comptroller race in 2021 as he was trailing in the primary at the time. She and other top progressives appeared in ads backing him. 'He was trailing his opponent, and then they did a number of commercials for him, and he won the comptroller's race because of it, a city-wide race where he wasn't that well-known,' Albro said. 'It will be very impactful,' he added about Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement. But her endorsement in the race also comes at a time when she is taking on a rising profile within the Democratic Party as a whole in the aftermath of former Vice President Harris's loss in the November presidential election. Discontent has been growing among the party's base with the current leadership, as polling has found voters widely split or unsure who their standard-bearer is. Ocasio-Cortez received widespread attention for the 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour that she and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) embarked on earlier this year, fueling speculation of a role beyond representing New York's 14th Congressional District in Congress. Her name has been floated as a possible choice for Senate in 2028, with many Democrats expressing frustration with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), or even president, with the Democratic field in three years currently appearing wide open. New York Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf said Ocasio-Cortez is emblematic of the generational change that many in the party are searching for. He added that what happens in New York won't stay there. 'The generational shift is something that matters in New York politics and will ultimately matter around the country,' he said. 'Why? Because what happens in New York reflects national trends, unquestionably so, both culturally, from a media perspective, from a financial perspective, and certainly from a political perspective.' Sheinkopf argued that Sanders is the candidate many young people ideally wanted in 2024 rather than Harris, but Sanders has 'deputized' Ocasio-Cortez, who resonates even more among the voters whom a candidate like Mamdani appeals to. 'It doesn't matter whether he wins or loses,' he argued. 'The fact is that she's lined up with the younger generation of voters.' Democrats also said they don't believe Ocasio-Cortez is taking on much political risk even if the candidate she's backing, who is a significant underdog, falls short. New York Democratic strategist Trip Yang noted Cuomo still had significant inherent advantages in the race, including name recognition, calling him an imperfect but 'strong' candidate. 'Even if [Mamdani] doesn't win, he improves his political standing tremendously and the new progressive movement as a whole,' Yang said. 'At the end of the day, whatever happens, progressives will come out of 2025 looking better than they did in 2021,' he said. Smikle said Ocasio-Cortez isn't likely to alienate any potential followers by weighing in, as her base does not have too much overlap with Cuomo's core supporters. 'I don't think there's a downside [for her] at all,' he said. Smikle said Ocasio-Cortez has also effectively been what polling has shown New Yorkers and Democrats broadly want from their leaders — someone who will stand up to President Trump and fight for their constituents. He argued that New Yorkers don't have a specific ideology of moderate or progressive but just want someone who will 'fight' for them. He said Ocasio-Cortez is one of the few major leaders in the party who has been 'speaking forward,' talking about what the future of Democratic politics and the coalition needs to look like and what ideas should be put forward. 'It's not just playing defense in the moment,' Smikle said. 'It's thinking about what that offense is going to be, what that offense needs to look like. There are not a lot of people speaking about that.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
