Latest news with #gubernatorialrace
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
With Harris on the sideline, top Democratic candidates for California governor woo party loyalists
California's most loyal Democrats got a good look this weekend at the wide field of gubernatorial candidates jockeying to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom at the state Democratic Party's annual convention in Anaheim, with a few chiding former vice president and potential rival Kamala Harris. The Democrats running for governor in 2026 hurried among caucus meetings, floor speeches and after-parties, telling their personal stories and talking up their bona fides for tackling some of California's most entrenched problems, including housing affordability and the rising cost of living. All the hand-shaking and selfies were done in the absence of Harris, who would be the most prominent candidate in the race, and who has not said whether she'll run for governor in 2026 or seek the White House again in 2028. The most visible candidates at the convention were former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and former state Controller Betty Yee, with former Rep. Katie Porter, state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa taking less prominent roles. With the primary still a year away, the gubernatorial race is still in limbo. Two prominent Republicans are also in the race: Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton. Read more: Villaraigosa blasts Harris and Becerra for not speaking out about Biden's decline Many Democratic activists, donors and elected officials said they were waiting to make up their minds until Harris makes up hers, because her entry into the governor's race could push some candidates off the ballot or into other statewide races. "People are kind of waiting to see what she's going to do," said Matt Savage, a delegate from San Jose, as attendees ate chia seed pudding and breakfast burritos at a breakfast hosted by Yee. "She needs to decide soon." Yee told the crowd: "Regardless of who gets in the race, we're staying in." Surrounded by canvassers who chanted his name as he talked, Cloobeck, a political newcomer, scolded Harris for not coming to the gathering of Democrats after her loss to President Trump in the November presidential election. "If she decides to get in this race, shame on her for not showing up for the most important people in the party, which is the people who are here today," Cloobeck said. "And if she doesn't have the IQ to show up, she's tone deaf once again." In a three-minute recorded video, Harris told Democrats that with Republicans working to cut taxes for the rich and dismantle efforts to fight climate change, "things are probably going to get worse before they get better." "But that is not reason to throw up our hands," Harris said. "It's a reason to roll up our sleeves." Polling shows that if Harris were to run for governor, she would have a major advantage: A November survey from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found that about 72% of Democrats would be very likely or somewhat likely to consider voting for her. Read more: Who is running for California governor in 2026? Meet the candidates Cloobeck said his campaign had spent "probably a couple hundred thousand dollars" on the canvassers, who wore royal blue shirts emblazoned with his name and distributed glossy invitations to a comedy night with "Roastmaster General" comedian Jeff Ross. One canvasser said he was paid $25 an hour and found the job on Craigslist. At the party's LGBTQ caucus meeting, Atkins, the only well-known gay candidate in the race, told the cheering crowd that she dreamed of making California work for others the way it had worked for her. Atkins, 62, was raised in southwest Virginia by a coal miner and a garment worker and moved to San Diego in her 20s. "California has given me every opportunity," Atkins said. "I want that promise to be true for everyone." At the Latino caucus, Villaraigosa said that the Democratic Party needs to focus on the affordability crisis facing working-class Californians, many of whom are Latinos, by tackling high gas prices, home prices, utility costs and other day-to-day cost of living challenges. Villaraigosa, 72, has been out of elected office for more than a decade. He last ran for for governor in 2018, placing a distant third in the primary behind Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox. He noted that he also lost the 2001 mayor's race before winning in 2005. "Sometimes it takes two times," Villaraigosa said to the caucus. "We're ready, we're not invisible. We're going to stand up for working people and our communities." Thurmond told the crowd during the party's general session on Friday afternoon that education is "the centerpiece of our democracy." It brought his grandparents to the U.S. and saved his life after his mother died when he was 6, he said. "We must continue to be the resistance against Donald Trump's misguided policies," he said. "We will ensure that every student in this state has access to good quality education. And while we're at it, we will not allow for ICE to be on any of our school campuses.' Read more: Trump threatens to strip federal funds to California over transgender youth athletes Four candidates made brief appearances before the party's powerful organized labor caucus, trying to make the case that they would be the best choice for the state's more than 2.4 million union members. In a 45-second speech, Cloobeck told the union members that he used union labor in his hotel development projects and promised that if he were elected, he would support workers getting "full pay, full wages" if they went on strike. Yee said she'd "protect and advance your precious pension funds." She took a passing shot at Newsom's now-infamous dinner at the French Laundry in Napa Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsom attended a lobbyist's birthday party at the upscale restaurant after he had pleaded with Californians to stay home and avoid multifamily gatherings. "I'm not about gimmicks," Yee said. "I'm the least flashy person. Hell, I've not even stepped foot in the French Laundry — but I can tell you, I grew up in a Chinese laundry." Kounalakis told the party's labor meeting that her father immigrated to the U.S. at age 14 and worked his way through college as a waiter at the governor's mansion before building a successful development company in Sacramento. Her vision of California's future, she said, is massive investment in water infrastructure, clean energy infrastructure, roadway infrastructure and housing: 'We're going to build the future of this state, and we're going to do it with union labor." At the party's senior caucus meeting, Becerra told Democrats that he was raised by working-class, immigrant parents who bought their own home in Sacramento, then questioned whether a couple without college degrees could do the same today. He touted his experience fighting GOP efforts to cut Social Security Disability Insurance as a member of Congress and work lowering drug costs as President Biden's health chief. "We're going to fight for you," Becerra said. At the women's caucus, Porter, who left Congress in January after losing a run for Senate, said she was concerned that Trump's budget cuts and policies will have a disproportionate impact on mothers, children and the LGBTQ+ community. "That s— is not happening on my watch," Porter said. Ann McKeown, 66, president of the Acton-Agua Dulce Democratic Club in Los Angeles County's High Desert, said she had wanted Harris to be the president "so badly," but Porter is her top choice for governor. "Kamala is nicer than Katie Porter," McKeown said, "and we don't need nice right now." Delegate Jane Baulch-Enloe of Contra Costa County and her daughter spread the contents of their bag of Democratic Party swag across a table, taking stock of the flyers and campaign memorabilia, including a Becerra for Governor button, a clear plastic coin purse from Yee and a blue Thurmond bookmark that read, "Ban fascism, not books." Baulch-Enloe, who teaches middle school English and history, said she originally thought she'd support Thurmond because he understands education. "But now that there's so many people in the race, I'm not sure," Baulch-Enloe said. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newark mayor reflects on arrest outside ICE facility: ‘They obviously targeted me'
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) on Friday reflected on being arrested outside of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility earlier in the day, arguing he was being targeted after visiting the New Jersey detention center with three Democratic members of Congress. 'Nothing happened for a long, long time, you know, for at least over an hour. And then, you know, after that, they finally told us to leave, and I told him I was leaving, they came outside the gate and arrested me,' Baraka said during his appearance on MSNBC's 'The Briefing' Friday night. 'So it looked like it was targeted.' He later added that ICE officials 'obviously targeted me.' 'I wasn't the only one out there. They came directly to me and tried to arrest me … no one else. Me,' the mayor told host and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki. 'And so, I honestly believe, you know, I was targeted there.' Baraka, who is in the running for New Jersey's upcoming gubernatorial race, made multiple appearances on major networks following his release from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) field office. Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, justified the administration's moves, claiming the mayor 'committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself' from the Delaney Hall ICE detention center. 'He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody,' Habba wrote in a post on social platform X. Baraka defended his presence at the facility, saying he was no there to protest, but to participate in a press conference with Garden State congressional delegation, including Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D), Rob Menendez (D) and LaMonica McIver (D). Watson Coleman said the trio was there to inspect the facility, not tour the place. Federal officials got into a back-and-forth with lawmakers and ended up arresting the mayor, who later appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Espinosa, according to court documents. DHS accused a group of protesters, along with Menendez and Watson Coleman, of storming 'the gate' and breaking 'into the detention facility.' 'Members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond a bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk. Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities,' DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on Friday. 'Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation.' Watson Coleman accused the DHS of spreading false information about the Friday incident. 'This scuffle, during which an ICE agent physically shoved me, occurred AFTER we had entered the Delaney Hall premises,' she wrote on X. 'We entered the facility, came BACK OUT to speak to the Mayor, and then ICE agents began shoving us.' 'This is not how we entered the facility. We were escorted in by guards, because we have lawful oversight authority to be there,' the New Jersey Democrat added. While in detention, Baraka said DHS officials were 'very gracious, very respectful' toward him. 'Treated me with respect and integrity. So, I have nothing but respect for those guys. But you know, it was still uncomfortable and, you know, humiliating situation for me,' he told MSNBC. The mayor has railed against President Trump's immigration crackdown and protested the opening of the ICE facility, contending that proper permits were not obtained in the process. ICE gave a multi-year contract to The Geo Group Inc. to operate the detention facility. Baraka sued the security company last month, alleging that the corporation did not 'give city officials access to conduct inspections required under municipal ordinances and state code,' therefore violating state and city law. The DHS has strongly pushed back against his accusations. 'The allegations made by Newark politicians that Delaney does not have the proper permitting are false,' DHS stated in a Friday press release. 'We have valid permits, and inspections for plumbing and electricity, and fire codes have been cleared.' The Trump administration said the detention facility houses violent migrants living in the country illegally, including those accused of being affiliated with the MS-13 gang and those with an INTERPOL Red Notice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Report: Tressel weighs run at governor's office
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — As the Ohio Republican Party gets ready to possibly endorse a candidate in next year's gubernatorial race, reports said the state's lieutenant governor may throw his hat into the ring. According to an NBC report, Ohio Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel issued a statement Thursday stating that while he was once hesitant to enter the race, he has changed his thinking and that the number of people encouraging him to run for the state's highest office is 'humbling.' He added that he hasn't made a final decision, and he is enjoying the job of lieutenant governor for now. Watch an interview with Tressel from when he was sworn in as lieutenant governor in the video player above. The statement comes one day before the state's Republican Party is set to meet to consider issuing an endorsement in next May's primary election. Ohio family contracted stomach bug from puppy bought from Petland, lawsuit claims If he does join the race, Tressel will join an already crowded Republican field of billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, Morgan County business owner Heather Hill, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. On the Democratic side, only former Ohio Health Director Amy Acton has announced her candidacy, although reports have said former Senate candidate Tim Ryan is considering a run. Ramaswamy has already received the nod from President Donald Trump, a powerful political endorsement in Ohio. The 72-year-old Tressel, a retired Ohio State University football coach with a national championship under his belt, was named Ohio's lieutenant governor in February after Gov. Mike DeWine appointed then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted as Ohio's newest U.S. senator, replacing JD Vance when he became vice president. NBC reports that DeWine, who is prohibited by term limits from running, is urging members of the Republican committee not to issue an endorsement yet nearly one year before the primary election. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
