San Joaquin County Elections & Politics Articles

The California housing crisis is not only weakening the state politically at the national level, it could shift the political balance in Washington, D.C., as Republican-led states add population while California’s exodus continues.

A new bill would make it illegal for homeless residents to camp in certain places, such as near schools, throughout California. Its authors say such a ban has had great success in San Diego. But a closer look at that …

In an analysis of more than 1 million votes cast by current legislators since 2017, CalMatters Digital Democracy reporter Ryan Sabalow and CBS Sacramento reporter Julie Watts found that Democrats vote “no” less than 1% of the time on average.

Some of California’s top lawmakers want to clear up, but also rein in, the “builder’s remedy.”

The state is considering zeroing out funds for CalWORKS family stabilization and job subsidy programs to help balance the budget.

State Sens. Aisha Wahab (left) and Shannon Grove speak during the Senate floor session at the Capitol in Sacramento on Jan. 22, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

Taylor Swift is so hated by fans of Donald Trump, they’ve set aside their hatred of San Francisco to root for the ’49ers in the Super Bowl, because Swift’s boyfriend plays for their opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Former Major League Baseball star Steve Garvey, a political rookie, faces off against veteran U.S. House members Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee in the first 2024 California Senate race debate Monday evening in Los Angeles.

California Forever, the company behind a proposed new city in Solano County, will submit a ballot measure seeking an exemption from local laws to allow development on the massive project to proceed.

With traffic deaths now regularly topping 300 per year, Measure HLA on the March 5 ballot gives Los Angeles voters the opportunity to force their reluctant city to implement new traffic safety measures.

Retired Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Steve Garvey is running for Senate as a "moderate" Republican and could be the first GOP U.S. Senator from California in 35 years, if a new poll is any indication.

State lawmakers reconvene with a lot of problems to fix, but not a lot of money to spend on solutions with a projected $68 billion budget deficit.

A judge rules that the Bakersfield Republican is eligible to run in the 2024 election for Congress even though he had already filed to run for his state Assembly seat.

Two-thirds of the bills opposed by the oil industry this year were killed, thanks in part to an alliance with the building trades union, forcing Democrats to sometimes choose between jobs and the environment.

Poverty in California was reduced by record levels during the COVID pandemic, but now those economic support programs have come to an end and poverty is on the rise again.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield announces he will leave Congress at the end of the year after fellow Republicans booted him as House speaker. Who might run for his seat? Could one candidate be former Rep. Devin Nunes?

With few strict rules on what California lawmakers must do, politics, policy priorities and personal preferences determine how much they follow the wishes of voters who put them into office.

Governors Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Ron DeSantis (R-FL) faced each other on a debate stage and traded blows, barbs, and zingers over the relative merits of their states in a Fox News debate that was nothing if not entertaining.

Small, rural districts often struggle to pass local bond measures to pay for school construction and repairs. In some cases, leaking roofs, dry rot and broken air conditioners haven’t been fixed in years.

Governors Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Ron DeSantis (R-FL) are set to face off in a debate Nov. 30 with unexpectedly high stakes, as polls now show both underwater in voter approval ratings.