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California Policy and Politics Tuesday
Newsom taps juggernaut digital operation to raise millions for Harris and Democrats -- The California governor in two years nearly tripled his email list to more than 17 million from 6 million and grew his tranche of phone numbers to nearly 11 million from 1.5 million. Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 11/5/24
Where California’s voter turnout stands so far — and what it could mean -- Early Democratic voter turnout is much higher than it was in 2022 in several key California House races, which could give Democrats a shot at retaking the House. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/5/24
Donald Trump is already laying the groundwork to challenge the election -- On the eve of the presidential election, Donald Trump and his surrogates have a message for Americans: Don’t trust the results. At least not if Trump loses. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/5/24
California’s path hinges on the presidential race: ‘No state has more to lose or gain’ -- State officials, business leaders and immigrant advocates are all preparing for whoever wins the presidential election. California’s response will be very different, depending on whether it’s Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. Alexei Koseff CalMatters -- 11/5/24
Why Californians should expect ballot measure surprises on election night -- An absence of expensive ballot fights means the state’s voters may not know as much about this year’s issue questions — and could deliver late swings that stray from polling results. Emily Schultheis Politico -- 11/5/24
Man behind country’s costliest ballot initiatives is at a crossroads -- On November 5, one of California’s most prolific ballot measure players could be both a winner and a loser if voters approve his push to expand rent control statewide while also passing an opposing measure that would cut off his political spending. Will McCarthy Politico -- 11/5/24
We talked to California college students about today’s election. Here’s what’s on their minds -- While Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is widely expected to secure her home state of California’s electoral votes, students enrolled at California’s colleges are making important choices on other national, statewide and local races on their ballot. Camelia Heins, Amy Moore, Delilah Brumer, Victoria Mejicanos, Khadeejah Khan and June Hsu CalMatters -- 11/5/24
Poll: California electorate is younger, more diverse. Many worry Trump would not accept defeat -- Two in three of those surveyed said that if Harris wins, they don’t believe Trump will concede defeat. Faith E. Pinho and Angie Orellana Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/24
Dems scramble to hold Katie Porter’s seat as Republicans gain ground -- Democratic state Sen. Dave Min is running against Scott Baugh, a longtime GOP operative and former county party chair who narrowly lost to Porter in 2022. Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 11/5/24
California’s Central Valley could deliver the House to Democrats. Latino voters could hold the key -- Republicans say they’ve got a messaging problem. Democrats say it’s about turnout. Lara Korte Politico -- 11/5/24
These California toss-ups may decide which party controls Congress -- Closely contested congressional races in California could tip the balance on whether Democrats can retake control of the U.S. House. This year, it’s Republicans on defense. Yue Stella Yu CalMatters -- 11/5/24
How big will Democrats’ supermajority be in the Legislature after tonight’s election? -- The California Legislature is poised to see more new members than at any time in the past 10 years, but the election is unlikely to lead to any major changes in the Capitol’s partisan makeup. Ryan Sabalow and Sameea Kamal CalMatters -- 11/5/24
Walters: Biggest potential impact in California’s election? Hundreds of bonds and tax measures -- Two statewide measures would authorize the state to borrow nearly $10 billion for school projects (Proposition 2) and another $10 billion for climate change-related programs (Proposition 4). Meanwhile, Proposition 5 would lower the vote requirement for most local bond issues from two-thirds to 55%, thus making passage much easier. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/5/24
U.S.-bound migrants say the election doesn’t matter: ‘You’re going to suffer whoever is president’ -- Trump has vowed to deport millions of people. Harris has pledged to reduce illegal entries into the United States. Migrants remain undeterred. Patrick J. McDonnell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/24
Why Republicans are expected to take control of the Senate -- A GOP takeover of the Senate would mean obstacles for Kamala Harris if she is elected president and a potential glide path for Donald Trump’s agenda if he wins. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/24
‘The primary was the election.’ California’s sleepy Senate race is almost over -- After California’s most competitive Senate primary in a generation, Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey are in a general election contest that hasn’t been much of one at all. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/24
Stanford study: Political bias can be more important than truth among news consumers -- Study finds confirmation bias weighs heavier than truth in news consumption across all demographics. Ryan Macasero in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/5/24
Gaza
At famously loud Berkeley, pro-Palestinian protests have grown quieter -- The pro-Palestinian activism that exploded this spring at the famously liberal University of California, Berkeley has hit a lull ahead of the presidential election. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 11/5/24
Wildfire winds
Powerful Santa Ana winds threaten California with severe fire danger -- Powerful Santa Ana and Diablo winds are forecast to begin Tuesday night across California, prompting the National Weather Service to warn of potential damage, power outages and heightened wildfire risk. Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/5/24
Dangerous winds pummel California. Could power shutoffs affect voting across the state? -- Power shutoffs amid dangerous winds could affect almost 240,000 across California this week, but officials say there should be no voting disruptions, even if some polling locations lose electricity. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/24
Gas prices
California regulators are pressed to come clean on gasoline prices -- California regulators are poised to vote Friday on a measure intended to accelerate the state’s transition away from fossil fuels by imposing tougher carbon-reduction requirements for gasoline and diesel. Russ Mitchell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/24
Develop
San Franciscans Are ‘Fighting for Their Lives’ Over One Great Highway -- Residents are feuding over whether to turn a two-mile stretch of road along the Pacific Ocean into a bikeway and walking path. Heather Knight, Lauren Segal in the New York Times$ -- 11/5/24
S.F. plans revamp of Embarcadero Plaza into sprawling park with retail corridor and event stage -- A plan to dramatically transform San Francisco’s stark Embarcadero Plaza into a green and vibrant park twice the size of Union Square could move forward this week, Mayor London Breed announced Monday. Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/5/24
Tribes battle over ancestral land — and a casino in California wine country -- Competition among Native gambling interests is heating up as the Biden administration seeks to relax restrictions. Julian Mark in the Washington Post$ -- 11/5/24
Homless
State sues Southern California city that banned new homeless shelters -- The state of California filed suit against Norwalk on Monday, alleging the southeastern Los Angeles County city’s moratorium on new homeless shelters and supportive housing violates half a dozen housing laws. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/24
Street
How much does Sacramento spend on police misconduct? We found $22 million in settlements -- The Sacramento Bee reviewed over 100 settlement agreements reached by the city between 2019 and the end of 2023, along with associated court filings. Ariane Lange in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/5/24
Top of the ticket
Harris and Trump tie in Dixville Notch midnight vote to kick off Election Day -- Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have tied with three votes each in the tiny New Hampshire township of Dixville Notch, kicking off Election Day in one of the first places in the country to report its presidential preference. Jack ForrestCNN -- 11/5/24
Oprah, Lady Gaga bring back the joy in Kamala Harris’ final rally -- Vice President Kamala Harris held her final rally of the campaign Monday night, 106 days after President Biden dropped out, with a heavy dose of celebrity, trying to bring back the joy that characterized her early weeks on the trail. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/24
Harris and Trump set sights on Pennsylvania in final push before Election Day -- Trump started the day in North Carolina and finished it in Michigan, but he spoke in Reading and Pittsburgh in between. The former president delivered stemwinders at each stop, blending false claims about voter fraud with warnings about migrants committing crimes and promises to revitalize the United States. Bill Barrow, Jill Colvin and Darlene Superville Associated Press -- 11/5/24
A Key Trump Staffer Was Fired Last Week For Being a White Nationalist -- Luke Meyer was Trump’s regional field director for western Pennsylvania. Online, he was the white nationalist Alberto Barbarossa and a co-host of Richard Spencer’s podcast. Amanda Moore Politico -- 11/5/24
Here’s how Donald Trump can win -- The polls could be underestimating Trump in the three Blue Wall states. Steven Shepard Politico Adam Nagourney in the New York Times$ -- 11/5/24
Here’s Harris’ path to winning -- Her strongest issue is abortion. Steven Shepard Politico Adam Nagourney in the New York Times$ -- 11/5/24
‘Shy Harris Voters’ and Other 2024 Polling Wild Cards -- Pollsters might have missed voting groups and trends that could tip the election outcome. Aaron Zitner in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/5/24
What That Surprising Iowa Poll Might Be Telling Us -- Sometimes outliers are early indicators, capturing something other polls just haven’t measured yet. Other times, they’re a fluke. Kaleigh Rogers in the New York Times$ -- 11/5/24
Elon Musk promotes video referencing QAnon in support of Trump -- The pro-Trump video referenced QAnon and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack to Musk’s vast following on X in the hours before polls opened on Election Day. Leo Sands in the Washington Post$ -- 11/5/24
Election officials brace for ‘little fires everywhere’ if Trump loses again -- The former president has prepared to challenge the outcome. State and local authorities are ready for more sophisticated and dispersed attacks on the system this time. Amy Gardner and Colby Itkowitz in the Washington Post$ -- 11/5/24
Rural Arizona shows how Trump allies could try to thwart election certification -- Two Republican county leaders were criminally charged after delaying certification of the 2022 election results. Arizonans worry it was a rehearsal for the 2024 presidential election. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez in the Washington Post$ -- 11/5/24
In Pennsylvania, a race to keep voters from having their ballots thrown away -- Thousands of voters are at risk of having their ballots cancelled due to simple errors, such as forgetting to date or sign the outer envelope. Colby Itkowitz in the Washington Post$ -- 11/5/24
California Policy and Politics Monday
Mark Farrell hit with one of the largest ethics fines on eve of S.F. mayoral election -- Mayoral candidate Mark Farrell has agreed to pay a $108,000 fine after an investigation by San Francisco ethics officials found that he illegally funded his candidacy through a committee he created for a separate purpose. Michael Barba in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/4/24
‘The primary was the election.’ California’s sleepy Senate race is almost over -- Two and a half weeks before Election Day, Burbank Rep. Adam Schiff was in south Florida, shaking hands with local Democrats and stumping for Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/4/24
How Americans Feel About the Election: Anxious and Scared -- Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump have framed the presidential race as an existential battle. Voters are heeding their warnings. Lisa Lerer and Katie Glueck in the New York Times$ -- 11/4/24
Quincy Jones, legendary composer who shaped Michael Jackson’s solo career, has died -- Quincy Jones, who expanded the American songbook as a musician, composer and producer and shaped some of the biggest stars and most memorable songs in the second half of the 20th century, has died at his home in Bel-Air. Steve Marble in the Los Angeles Times$ Ben Ratliff in the New York Times$ -- 11/4/24
Bay Area law enforcement braces for 2024 Election Day unrest -- The clock is ticking on a seismic election, and signs of strife are percolating around the country — from ballot boxes lit aflame, to social media erupting with each whiplash swing of the polls. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/4/24
PG&E warns of power shut-offs this week. Here’s which Bay Area counties may be affected -- Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is warning of an elevated risk of power shut-offs across the Bay Area and Northern California from Tuesday through Thursday amid a “strong Diablo wind event” that will elevate the wildfire risk. Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/4/24
Battles between Latino and Asian political candidates could reshape L.A.’s Eastside -- Asian Pacific Islander candidates are running against Latino opponents in districts that take in all or portions of the Eastside. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/4/24
Low-profile environmental measures could bring big changes to California -- Bay Area voters will decide ballot questions on parks, wildfires, farms, even a plan to close a major highway. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/4/24
Big spenders: These companies are giving the most to California legislative candidates -- Independent expenditure committees have put nearly $100 million into legislative races, funding ads to support, and often attack, candidates. The outside, unlimited spending is increasing with each election. Jeremia Kimelman CalMatters -- 11/4/24
After campaigning outside California, Newsom spends final days of election in home state -- Throughout this election cycle, California Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled the country campaigning for the Democratic presidential ticket, making stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Hampshire, Georgia, South Carolina, Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Nevada. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/4/24
Teens 16 and 17 get to vote in two Alameda County school board races -- Candidates seeking to lead the Oakland Unified School District faced a barrage of tough questions one recent evening — an interrogation led by an enthusiastic group of new voters suddenly endowed with political power: 16- and 17-year-old high school students. Meg Tanaka in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/4/24
Tensions flare in the Bay Area and supporters get jumpy as presidential election nears -- Political divisions raise tempers at a Campbell farmers market, Nevada car trip. Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/4/24
Attacked by Trump, slighted by Harris, immigrant activists prepare for a defiant future -- U.S. failure to reform legal immigration and global displacement created conditions that Donald Trump has exploited, say activists. But why aren’t Democrats pushing back? Raheem Hosseini in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/3/24
Education
This new admissions system changes how students get into college — and helps schools find prospects -- Applying to college was always the plan for AnDrue Perkins of Fairfield, but you know how it is. Things get in the way, like playing point guard in a winning basketball season. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/4/24
SJSU students, staff struggle as the campus lands in anti-trans crosshairs -- A few minutes before the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team took the court against Air Force on Thursday night, the students began filing in — about a dozen of them, some in Halloween costumes, several holding homemade signs. Erin Allday, Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/4/24
Street
‘That could have been us’: BART train attack unsettles riders -- A day after a woman’s throat was sliced in an unprovoked attack on a BART train in San Francisco, riders were horrified at what they said was yet another violent incident that made them feel unsafe. David Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/4/24
He spent 30 years in prison, where he was beaten and shot. But was he actually innocent? -- Humberto Duran was arrested on suspicion of murder in 1993, implicated by a teenage witness who since recanted her account. More than a decade later, Duran was still in prison. Keri Blakinger in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/4/24
Top of the ticket
‘Shy Harris Voters’ and Other 2024 Polling Wild Cards -- Pollsters may have missed voting groups and trends that could tip the election outcome. Aaron Zitner in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/4/24
Harris vows unity in closing message while Trump lashes out -- Vice President Kamala Harris used her campaign stops in Michigan on Sunday to reiterate her message that she would be a president for all Americans by inviting those who disagree with her to the table, while Republican nominee Donald Trump doubled down on portraying a dystopian future for the country that he claimed only he could fix. Yasmeen Abutaleb and Isaac Arnsdorf in the Washington Post$ -- 11/4/24
A Vivid Trump-Harris Contrast in the Campaign’s Grueling Final Days -- As Kamala Harris visited a church in Detroit on the last Sunday of the campaign, Donald J. Trump told supporters that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after the 2020 election. Adam Nagourney, Katie Glueck and Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 11/4/24
Trump talks about reporters being shot and says he shouldn’t have left White House after 2020 loss -- Donald Trump delivered a profane and conspiracy-laden speech two days before Tuesday’s presidential election, talking about reporters being shot and suggesting he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Jill Colvin and Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 11/4/24
GOP’s closing election message on health baffles strategists, worries experts -- “No Obamacare.” Questioning vaccines. No fluoride in drinking water. They’re all Republican assertions in the final days of the presidential campaign. Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 11/4/24
In a bathroom stall, a simple message: Vote Harris. No one will know -- In the final days of the presidential race, what started as a whisper campaign has become the subject of a controversial 30-second ad, been amplified by Michelle Obama and drawn furious backlash from the right. Emily Davies in the Washington Post$ -- 11/4/24
America Faces a Third Referendum on Trump’s Dark Message -- Former president campaigns again on protecting the country from ‘sinister forces.’ Democrats believe voters are tired of it. Molly Ball in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/4/24
Trump’s culture of retribution has swept through American life -- Trump’s calls for vengeance against political opponents have seeped into public life. Librarians are harassed, teachers vilified, election workers threatened. Jeffrey Fleishman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/4/24
The Proud Boys Have Regrouped and Are Signaling Election Plans -- Members of the Proud Boys, key instigators in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, are mobilizing in support of Donald Trump—and in some cases, making threats about the presidential election. Tawnell D. Hobbs and Jennifer Levitz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/4/24
Four years after ‘Stop the Steal,’ an organized army emerges online -- The fringe group that tried to subvert Donald Trump’s 2020 loss has spent years preparing to contest the 2024 vote. This time, Elon Musk is on their side. Drew Harwell, Cat Zakrzewski and Naomi Nix in the Washington Post$ -- 11/4/24
On Telegram, a Violent Preview of What May Unfold on Election Day and After -- Right-wing groups, which use Telegram to organize real-world actions, are urging followers to watch the polls and stand up for their rights, in a harbinger of potential chaos. Paul Mozur, Adam Satariano, Aaron Krolik and Steven Lee Myers in the New York Times$ -- 11/4/24
Skelton: Sure, Harris isn’t ideal. But Trump is a disgrace to America -- Here’s my take on the painful 2024 presidential race. And I’ll keep it simple. OK, call it simplistic. This absurd election season does lend itself to simple-minded thinking. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/4/24
McManus: The case against Donald Trump is clear. Here’s the case for Kamala Harris -- The bottom line in the presidential election is clear: Kamala Harris would preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Donald Trump would not. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/4/24