years, there have only been four Republican Governors elected into office in California. They are Ronald Reagan, 1967 - 1975, George Deukmejian,1983 -1991, Pete Wilson, 1991-1999 and Arnold Schwartzenegger, 2003 - 2011.
Since then, there have been two Democrat Governors, Jerry Brown, 2011 -2018 and Gavin Newsom, 2019 – Present.
Both chambers of the California legislature have been controlled by the Democratic Party since 1959 except from 1969 to 1971 when the Republican Party held both chambers and from 1994 to 1996, when Republicans briefly held a majority in the Assembly.
The current breakdown has the Assembly as 60 Democrats and 20 Republicans, while the Senate is composed of 30 Democrats and 10 Republicans. It has been a blue state since 1959, except for the years Republicans controlled the governorship.
The last Republican US Senator, John Seymour, was voted out in 1991.
Having given you the demographic to understand how liberal California is, and an understanding of the crazy policies which seem to come out of that State, it is surprising to read there may come a seismic shift in its political make-up during the election in 2026.
The late edition of the Sunday New York Post is reporting that while California’s Democratic politicians like to say they are leading the nation and the world with their bold, brave policies, lately it looks like they’re trailing the parade.
It seems that the state’s Democratic leaders, despite their party’s absolute control of California’s government, are acting nervous and snappish about a handful of Republicans speaking out on important issues.
At this point, the candidate most speculated to run for Governor is the incapable former Senator and Vice President, Kamala Harris. And Kackin’ Kammy does not exude a high level of confidence across the California electoral divide, considering her less than stellar performance as the Democrat Presidential candidate.
Although the Kamster won in California by a margin of 20 percentage points, it represented a significant decrease compared to Joe Biden's 29-point victory in the state in 2020. Harris's performance in California was the worst for a Democratic candidate since 2004, failing to receive at least 60% of the vote in the state for the first time since then.
Even current Governor Gavin Newsom, scratching for national relevance as he maneuvers toward a 2028 run for the presidency, is obsessing about the influence of Republican podcasts and trying to get himself in front of their audiences.
On his own newly launched podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” California’s sitting governor chats breezily about policy with conservatives on the national scene, as if auditioning for a Sunday afternoon talk show. Casual viewers would never guess that Newsom is currently in office and actually has the power to do the things he says he supports.
For example, Newsom made news on the premiere edition of his podcast by agreeing with the conservative founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, that “it’s deeply unfair” to allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.
That prompted California Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli to ask why Newsom is not supporting his proposed legislation, Assembly Bill 844, which would reverse a 2013 state law that allowed biological boys to compete in girls’ sports. “You’re the governor, not a commentator,” Essayli wrote in a post on X.
Newsom is trying to appeal to a more center-right national audience, while trying not to “sell out” his “principles”. But, thus far, people see through his sheep’s costume. And he is smart enough to know that.
And there have been several instances where the Democrat Supermajority in both the California Assembly and Senate removed Republicans for criticizing pending and debated legislation because the Republican objections were making an impact on the electorate. But then, so did the Democrat actions.
So, Democrats are beginning to worry that the continued left wing march will be stopped in 2026. And digging in to try and overwhelm Republicans is not helping their cause with the voters.
So hang on, friends. It will be interesting to see whether the political earth will quake and shake in California in 2026.
Or will what we are witnessing now is nothing more than the aftershock of the 2024 election, with tremors, but no fissures.
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