In recent years we have seen several members of the California delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives choose to leave DC and continue their political careers back home in the Golden State. This may be because the commute from CA to DC is brutal and the partisan divide is toxic. In California there is mo…
In recent years we have seen several members of the California delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives choose to leave DC and continue their political careers back home in the Golden State. This may be because the commute from CA to DC is brutal and the partisan divide is toxic. In California there is more of a chance for legislators to have an impact on policy. In Los Angeles County two of the five current Supervisors are former members of Congress (Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn). There are others in different areas of the state as well. The state legislature is also a landing spot for former House members. Today is the followup to a "where are they now" feature from DKE after the primary.
Three former House members ran for CA Legislature seats. In NorCal we have a winner in Jerry McNerney (D), who leads in SD-05 by about 53% to 47% over a GOP challenger. Also in the Central Valley a GOP former congressman, George Radanovich, ran for Assembly in AD-08 and is losing to another Repub by 47% to 53%.
The final race is undecided, where SD-35 has a lead of fewer than 3000 votes for Laura Richardson in a L.A. County district, over Michelle Chambers, a former Compton City Councilmember. Both are Black Democrats. Chambers got both the LACDP (county party org.) and L.A. Times endorsements. Richardson had some ethics problems when she was in the House (pressuring staffers to work on her election campaign.) Maybe Laura had more name recognition than Michelle? I don't know. While Chambers seems more progressive, the left shift in L.A. late vote counts might not apply since they are both Democrats. It is not over, but Richardson is likely going back to Sacramento. She served briefly in the Assembly before her election to the House of Representatives.
That isn't my part of the state and I don't know much about either Radanovich or David Tangipa, the winner. It might just be that Tangipa is younger; Radanovich is 69 years old. Also Radanovich ran for State Senate in 2022 and didn't even make it to the runoff, so his campaigning skills may be weak.
More News from California:
In recent years we have seen several members of the California delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives choose to leave DC and continue their political careers back home in the Golden State. This may be because the commute from CA to DC is brutal and the partisan divide is toxic. In California there is more of a chance for legislators to have an impact on policy. In Los Angeles County two of the five current Supervisors are former members of Congress (Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn). There are others in different areas of the state as well. The state legislature is also a landing spot for former House members. Today is the followup to a "where are they now" feature from DKE after the primary.
Three former House members ran for CA Legislature seats. In NorCal we have a winner in Jerry McNerney (D), who leads in SD-05 by about 53% to 47% over a GOP challenger. Also in the Central Valley a GOP former congressman, George Radanovich, ran for Assembly in AD-08 and is losing to another Repub by 47% to 53%.
The final race is undecided, where SD-35 has a lead of fewer than 3000 votes for Laura Richardson in a L.A. County district, over Michelle Chambers, a former Compton City Councilmember. Both are Black Democrats. Chambers got both the LACDP (county party org.) and L.A. Times endorsements. Richardson had some ethics problems when she was in the House (pressuring staffers to work on her election campaign.) Maybe Laura had more name recognition than Michelle? I don't know. While Chambers seems more progressive, the left shift in L.A. late vote counts might not apply since they are both Democrats. It is not over, but Richardson is likely going back to Sacramento. She served briefly in the Assembly before her election to the House of Representatives.
Apparently radonovich isn't crazy enough? Your thoughts?
That isn't my part of the state and I don't know much about either Radanovich or David Tangipa, the winner. It might just be that Tangipa is younger; Radanovich is 69 years old. Also Radanovich ran for State Senate in 2022 and didn't even make it to the runoff, so his campaigning skills may be weak.