Tag: California

Democratic Megadonors Considering 2018 Gubernatorial Runs

Good scoop from Politico’s Gabriel Debenedetti:

Four weeks out from Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, Democrats may soon be launching a few unorthodox, mega-rich candidates of their own.

In three major states with a governor’s mansion up for grabs in 2018, a big-name, politically active billionaire or multimillionaire is taking steps toward a run — donors looking to take matters into their own hands after 2016’s gutting losses.

In Florida, it’s John Morgan, a wealthy attorney who has long been one of the Democratic Party’s biggest swing-state fundraisers. In Illinois, it’s J.B. Pritzker, the businessman and philanthropist with a history of pumping cash and Chicago political support toward Hillary Clinton. And in California, it’s Tom Steyer, the hedge fund manager-turned climate activist who used the 2014 and 2016 election cycles to become one of the left’s single biggest donors, to the tune of over $140 million. And more may be on the way.

It’s an unexpected development that stands to inject new life into the Democratic Party — but it also exposes the lack of clear pipeline for young, rising Democrats after a series of losses, at a time when they are down to just 18 governors across the country, from 29 just eight years ago.

“There seems to be a feeling that we need to look beyond the normal folks we always look to, the normal types,” said Elisabeth Pearson, the Democratic Governors Association’s executive director, who said the party was discussing a “need to look beyond the type of people who have been elected before, and look at who else might be out there.”

California is a Democratic stronghold. Incumbent governor Jerry Brown will be retiring at the end of his current term, which means the Democratic primary is where the competition will really be in this race. Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are running for the job as well, so how Steyer might fit into this race is not known at the present time.

Illinois and Florida are both under Republican control, but will be in different circumstances in 2018.  Illinois incumbent Bruce Rauner will be running for re-election, while Florida incumbent Rick Scott is term-limited and Republicans will be defending an open seat.

UPDATE: Here is a post-election tweet from John Morgan linking to a Medium post outlining his vision for what the next governor of Florida should do.

 

Former California Speaker John Perez Running for Xavier Becerra’s Congressional Seat

Former California Assembly speaker John Perez – who announced yesterday he was considering a run for DNC chairman – announced he will be running for Congress. This just in from Democratic strategist Dave Jacobson:

Perez apparently sent out a press statement shortly after the Becerra news broke.

If Perez is going to run for Becerra’s seat in California’s 34th congressional district, that would presumably take him out of contention for the DNC chairman race.

Becerra Chosen to be Next Attorney General of California

The Los Angeles Times just sent out a news alert announcing Governor Jerry Brown has appointed Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) to be the next attorney general of California, taking over for outgoing Attorney General Kamala Harris who was recently elected to the U.S. Senate.

More details:

Becerra, 58, has served 12 terms in Congress and was making a bid to become the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee when Brown called him unexpectedly to offer the job.

“It’s a phenomenal opportunity,” Becerra said. “It means I get to be home a lot more.”

Becerra, who is the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, would be the state’s first Latino attorney general.

He worked in the Civil Division of the attorney general’s office from 1987 to 1990 before entering Congress. Becerra earned a law degree from Stanford Law School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University.

He said in an interview Thursday morning he had always wanted to return to the office.

Becerra, if confirmed, would be the first attorney general appointed by a governor since Thomas Lynch, who was tapped by former Gov. Pat Brown in 1964.

The choice will no doubt send political shock waves through California because Becerra was not on any of the widely circulated lists of picks. Before Nov. 8, the conventional wisdom had been that the governor would choose a caretaker, perhaps even a career staffer who would simply carry out the office’s functions through the 2018 elections.

Becerra must be confirmed by the state Senate and Assembly, both handily controlled by Democrats.

The office of attorney general is perhaps second only to the governor in power, with broad authority to file sweeping legal action and defend California law.

UPDATE: Here’s the statement from Becerra:

 

Former California Assembly Speaker Considering Getting In DNC Chair Race

John Perez, former speaker of the California Assembly, is considering entering the race for DNC chairman, according to a recent interview with Politico’s Carla Marinucci. Perez – who is openly gay – also said issues of importance to LGBT citizens are a concern now with the incoming administration and both chambers of Congress under Republican control:

Perez told attendees at Tuesday’s conference that there is an immediate need for the Democratic Party to protect LGBT voters against possible action by conservative activists buoyed by the Trump win.

For LGBT voters, “everything is on the table — and everything is very scary — when you look at both houses of Congress,’’ he said. “Trump has spoken in very unclear terms about … issues in the LGBT community. Hence, he’s been very clear,’’ said Perez. Vice President-elect Mike Pence, he said, is “one of the most ardent opponents of equality, who has advanced the notion of legalizing discrimination.”

He said his concerns go beyond marriage equality. “Fundamentally, it’s people being able to live free of fear for their personal safety and their economic stability,” he said.

He also said he was still “evaluating” on whether or not to run for the position.

Democrats Weigh In On Party’s Direction, Message and Future

Several Democrats – including a DNC chair candidate, an Obama cabinet secretary, and a potential 2020 presidential candidate – penned a collection of mini op-eds for the Washington Post outlining their vision for the party and its future. All of them are worth reading.

California Democrats Have Supermajorities in Both Houses of State Legislature

Nearly three weeks after Election Day, the Associated Press finally called the race for California’s 29th Senate District in favor of Democrat Josh Newman, giving state Democrats a 2/3 supermajority in both houses of the state legislature in Sacramento.

Why does this matter? According to the Los Angeles Times:

With a supermajority, a political party can raise taxes, place measures on the statewide ballot, enact laws immediately with an “urgency” clause and override a governor’s veto. In theory, it’s an enormous amount of power.

In short, one of the bluest and the most populated states in the country got even bluer for the final two years of Governor Jerry Brown’s term.

President-Elect Questions Integrity of Election He Won, State Officials Say Allegations Are Unfounded

The subject of losing the popular vote is a touchy issue for President-elect Donald Trump. Yesterday, he tweeted (among other things) this:

Not stated in the second tweet: Trump lost all three states, which also happen to have Democratic governors. In other words, the implicit subtext is that Hillary Clinton didn’t win those states fairly.  Officials from all three states have weighed in (including the Republican governor-elect of New Hampshire) on the accusation:

UPDATE: CNN’s Don Lemon made an interesting observation tonight, asking if there isn’t some sense of irony or payback for Obama supporters in all of this because President Obama had to endure years of questions about the legitimacy of his presidency at the hands of people like Donald Trump because of the birther lie.  [Note: This is a paraphrase, I will add an update to this post with transcript or video clip when it becomes available.]

UPDATE II: Here’s the transcript

MCENANY: He would have won it because he would have campaigned differently. But you have people out there calling for recounts that are unsubstantiated based on no evidence. You have Jill Stein coming on our network an hour or so ago suggesting that there were hacks or potentially hacks and we won’t know until we count the votes. There are people trying to delegitimize the president-elect of the United States?

LEMON: Why would he care? And here’s the other thing. Here’s the other thing, though. I mean, don’t you think that people are going on maybe even the current president is sitting there going, now you know how it feels to have people try to delegitimize you as a president?

MCENANY: I think you do. And in some ways the president of the United States is sticking up for Donald Trump on this and saying —

LEMON: But he did it for years with the whole birther thing.

MCENANY: He asked the question and he got his answer.

LEMON: This is karma.

MCENANY: And he moved on. But no, the president of the United States —

SELLERS: No, he never moved on.

MCENANY: I have to praise President Obama because he has actually slapped this down, and said, hey, you know what, the people spoke, let’s give him a chance. And that’s commendable.

LEMON: I don’t know — I don’t know – wait a minute. I don’t have — I have no idea what you’re saying.

MCENANY: I’m saying President Obama has been really great in all of this, and I want to commend him for really standing up for the people’s vote and saying let’s give this guy a chance. I think it’s fantastic.

LEMON: OK. But my question was, now he knows how it feels to have people say, you know, or at least insinuate that you’re not a legitimate president. Because he did it for so many years. What does that have to do with the president saying, you know —

MCENANY: Well, I think —

LEMON: Because he was being gracious and class in saying —

MCENANY: Sure.

LEMON: We must accept the outcome of the election.