Presidential challengers hoping to glide to victory through California’s newly relevant primary, a heads-up: Your electoral fate may hinge on convincing enough left-leaning millennials to send postcards over the holiday season. Welcome to the quirk-filled world of California election law. Here, voters without a registered political party can participate in the Democratic...
Walters: Democratic Voters More Centrist Than Their Party
When the state Democratic Party staged a convention in San Francisco a few weeks ago, it drew many of the seemingly countless would-be presidential candidates – particularly those positioning themselves on the party’s left-most wing. Delegates roared their approval as hopeful after hopeful denounced President Donald Trump and promised a...
Buttigieg Is Breath of Fresh Air in Dem Presidential Race
You can bet on just about anything online — including the Democratic presidential nominee. Depending on the bookmaker, Pete Buttigieg, the openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has either the third- or fourth-best odds of facing President Donald Trump. That's a testament to the rising arc of Buttigieg's campaign....
California’s Earlier Spot in 2020 Primaries Shaking up Presidential Race
With the state’s Democratic Party holding its convention in San Francisco this weekend, you’ll be able to count at least 14 presidential candidates descending on California. And for a change, they’re here not just for our money, but for our votes. California will be sidling up to the front of the electoral...
Hickenlooper Proposing Staggered Federal Minimum Wage Hikes
LAS VEGAS — Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper is proposing a $15 federal minimum wage — with a twist. Rather than unilaterally hiking the wage to $15, the former Colorado governor proposes phasing in the increases depending on an area's cost of living. The most expensive quarter of the country would get...
Buttigieg Scrambles to Turn 2020 Buzz Into Momentum
MANCHESTER, N.H. — There are no policy positions on his website. He has virtually no paid presence in the states that matter most. And his campaign manager is a high school friend with no experience in presidential politics. This is the upstart campaign of Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old Indiana mayor who...
Buttigieg, Once Cordial to Pence, Now Critical Amid Campaign
WASHINGTON — On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg blasts Vice President Mike Pence's cultural and religious conservatism. But as the mayor of Indiana's fourth largest city, his tone toward the state's Republican former governor was more muted. During the four years in which they overlapped in Indiana...
Bauman Steps Down as California Democratic Party Chair
SACRAMENTO — California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman is resigning following sexual misconduct allegations. Bauman announced his decision Thursday, hours after Governor-elect Gavin Newsom called for him to step aside. Bauman released a statement that does not specifically address the allegations against him. He says he's come to the realization...
Top California Democrat on Leave Amid Sex Misconduct Inquiry
SACRAMENTO — The chair of the California Democratic Party took a leave of absence Monday amid an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him. Eric Bauman's leave will last until an outside investigation ends, party spokesman Mike Roth said. "Chair Bauman believes this decision is the best way to ensure...
Nothing Certain on the Eve of First Trump-Era Elections
WASHINGTON — The day of reckoning for American politics has nearly arrived. Voters on Tuesday will decide the $5 billion debate between President Donald Trump's take-no-prisoner politics and the Democratic Party's super-charged campaign to end the GOP's monopoly in Washington and statehouses across the nation. There are indications that an oft-discussed "blue...