Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Live Welcome to Essential Politics, our in-the-moment look at California political and government news. for analysis and more, and subscribe to the . Don’t miss our Essential Politics page in Sunday’s California section.L.A. billionaire Eli Broad donates $1.5 million to pro-charter school group supporting Villaraigosa for governor Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Eli Broad donated $1.5 million on Thursday to a pro-charter school group supporting Antonio Villaraigosa’s candidacy for governor. The contribution came one day after , Families...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Live Welcome to Essential Politics, our in-the-moment look at California political and government news. for analysis and more, and subscribe to the . Don’t miss our Essential Politics page in Sunday’s California section.L.A. billionaire Eli Broad donates $1.5 million to pro-charter school group supporting Villaraigosa for governor Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Eli Broad donated $1.5 million on Thursday to a pro-charter school group supporting Antonio Villaraigosa’s candidacy for governor. The contribution came one day after , Families...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Reed Galen was about to go to sleep one night last week when his phone pinged. President Trump was tweeting about him and his group of longtime Republican allies who are working to make sure Trump is not reelected.The group, a political action committee called the Lincoln Project, had created an ad called “Mourning in America,” a play on a famed 1984 Ronald Reagan campaign ad. The minute-long video blasts and the arguing that he has made the country “weaker and sicker and poorer.”It was mostly a digital effort, but they spent a few...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Reed Galen was about to go to sleep one night last week when his phone pinged. President Trump was tweeting about him and his group of longtime Republican allies who are working to make sure Trump is not reelected.The group, a political action committee called the Lincoln Project, had created an ad called “Mourning in America,” a play on a famed 1984 Ronald Reagan campaign ad. The minute-long video blasts and the arguing that he has made the country “weaker and sicker and poorer.”It was mostly a digital effort, but they spent a few...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Pressured by President Trump to reopen the economy amid the coronavirus outbreak, governors across the nation on Friday laid out varying paths as they tried to balance public health with the crushing financial pressures facing the nation’s workers. Texas is opening its parks and Florida’s governor told local officials they could let beachgoers return. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that his state would reopen state parks, allow retailers to offer to-go sales and let physicians and nurses perform diagnostic tests and surgeries that...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Pressured by President Trump to reopen the economy amid the coronavirus outbreak, governors across the nation on Friday laid out varying paths as they tried to balance public health with the crushing financial pressures facing the nation’s workers. Texas is opening its parks and Florida’s governor told local officials they could let beachgoers return. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that his state would reopen state parks, allow retailers to offer to-go sales and let physicians and nurses perform diagnostic tests and surgeries that...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement The danger of the coronavirus pandemic has become very real for LeAnn Davis. A major outbreak at a National Beef plant near this Iowa town of 2,100 has left one of her friends hospitalized.Davis is put off by President Trump’s refusal to wear a and alarmed by his rush to reopen the economy.“It’s too soon,” she said. “It’s way too soon.”Trump has begun pouring money into television advertising in Iowa, a state that he easily carried in 2016, and voters like Davis are a big part of the reason. The 50-year-old Democrat voted twice for...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement The danger of the coronavirus pandemic has become very real for LeAnn Davis. A major outbreak at a National Beef plant near this Iowa town of 2,100 has left one of her friends hospitalized.Davis is put off by President Trump’s refusal to wear a and alarmed by his rush to reopen the economy.“It’s too soon,” she said. “It’s way too soon.”Trump has begun pouring money into television advertising in Iowa, a state that he easily carried in 2016, and voters like Davis are a big part of the reason. The 50-year-old Democrat voted twice for...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, many of the nation’s largest corporations pledged that they would suspend donations to elected officials who opposed the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, hindered the peaceful transfer of power or incited violence. Some said they would stop contributing all together.The vast majority kept their word, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.“There was a lot of cynicism around the announcements when they first were made,” said Judd Legum, the...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, many of the nation’s largest corporations pledged that they would suspend donations to elected officials who opposed the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, hindered the peaceful transfer of power or incited violence. Some said they would stop contributing all together.The vast majority kept their word, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.“There was a lot of cynicism around the announcements when they first were made,” said Judd Legum, the...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement It’s suddenly feeling a bit like 2003 all over again. If Arnold Schwarzenegger could win a recall election to become governor of California then, could Caitlyn Jenner follow the same path nearly two decades later?The Olympic decathlete-turned-reality TV star who announced in 2015 that is considering a run, reported Tuesday. The outlet cited “three sources with direct knowledge” of the situation. With Gov. Gavin Newsom likely facing a recall election this fall, a pop culture figure seeking the state’s top job has echoes of what...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement It’s suddenly feeling a bit like 2003 all over again. If Arnold Schwarzenegger could win a recall election to become governor of California then, could Caitlyn Jenner follow the same path nearly two decades later?The Olympic decathlete-turned-reality TV star who announced in 2015 that is considering a run, reported Tuesday. The outlet cited “three sources with direct knowledge” of the situation. With Gov. Gavin Newsom likely facing a recall election this fall, a pop culture figure seeking the state’s top job has echoes of what...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement “I am ashamed to this day for voting for him.”“Donald J. Trump has broken my faith in the Republican Party.”“He’s a pathological liar.”AdvertisementThe pained testimony of more than a dozen Republican voters — who go on to explain why they plan to vote for Democrat Joe Biden — filled an ad that ran on Fox News last weekend. In the 60-second spot, one man concludes, “It’s OK to change your mind. We did.” The message could’ve come from a Democratic playbook. But it was created by Republican Voters Against Trump, one of several GOP...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement “I am ashamed to this day for voting for him.”“Donald J. Trump has broken my faith in the Republican Party.”“He’s a pathological liar.”AdvertisementThe pained testimony of more than a dozen Republican voters — who go on to explain why they plan to vote for Democrat Joe Biden — filled an ad that ran on Fox News last weekend. In the 60-second spot, one man concludes, “It’s OK to change your mind. We did.” The message could’ve come from a Democratic playbook. But it was created by Republican Voters Against Trump, one of several GOP...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged Monday to nominate a Black woman to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein if the 87-year-old decides to retire before her term is up in 2024.“I have multiple names in mind,” Newsom told MSNBC’s Joy Reid when she asked him whether he would name a Black woman to replace a retiring Feinstein.Newsom made the statement hours after his allies launched a campaign against a proposed recall that appears to be on the cusp of qualifying for the ballot. The first-term governor made his most extensive comments about the effort...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged Monday to nominate a Black woman to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein if the 87-year-old decides to retire before her term is up in 2024.“I have multiple names in mind,” Newsom told MSNBC’s Joy Reid when she asked him whether he would name a Black woman to replace a retiring Feinstein.Newsom made the statement hours after his allies launched a campaign against a proposed recall that appears to be on the cusp of qualifying for the ballot. The first-term governor made his most extensive comments about the effort...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Breaking News Advertisement Backers of an effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom are still collecting signatures, but rivals are already announcing their intention to run.Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer plans to challenge the governor if the recall qualifies for the ballot this year, or in 2022 if it does not. In an interview with The Times, the Republican attacked Newsom’s handling of the economy, homelessness and the COVID-19 pandemic.“It is time to be a voice for Californians who are suffering because Sacramento can’t do the basics,”...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Breaking News Advertisement Backers of an effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom are still collecting signatures, but rivals are already announcing their intention to run.Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer plans to challenge the governor if the recall qualifies for the ballot this year, or in 2022 if it does not. In an interview with The Times, the Republican attacked Newsom’s handling of the economy, homelessness and the COVID-19 pandemic.“It is time to be a voice for Californians who are suffering because Sacramento can’t do the basics,”...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Georgia’s too-close-to-call presidential contest devolved into a fight Monday among Republicans as the state’s top election official rejected calls from its two U.S. senators that he resign for challenging President Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.Monday morning, Gabriel Sterling, a lifelong Republican who manages Georgia’s voting system, took to a lectern at the Capitol to plainly and matter-of-factly dismiss criticism of election illegalities in the Southern battleground state as “fake news” and...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Georgia’s too-close-to-call presidential contest devolved into a fight Monday among Republicans as the state’s top election official rejected calls from its two U.S. senators that he resign for challenging President Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.Monday morning, Gabriel Sterling, a lifelong Republican who manages Georgia’s voting system, took to a lectern at the Capitol to plainly and matter-of-factly dismiss criticism of election illegalities in the Southern battleground state as “fake news” and...WW…