Senate race remaps California power

Mar 06, 2024

Adam Schiff waves.

Rep. Adam Schiff waves to supporters next to his wife at an election night party on Tuesday in Los Angeles. | Jae C. Hong/AP

L.A. PRIDE — Los Angeles is home to the Dodgers, Hollywood, 10 million people — and, soon, both of California’s U.S. senators.

Rep. Adam Schiff’s primary triumph cemented a southward shift in the locus of California power. For a generation, the state’s upper house representatives shared Bay Area roots: Sen. Dianne Feinstein had ascended through San Francisco and her ally, Sen. Barbara Boxer, had held a House seat across the Bay in Marin. Boxer gave way to former San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris.

But when Harris left the Senate for the White House, Gov. Gavin Newsom elevated the Angeleno Sen. Alex Padilla, who had forged a bond with Newsom by serving as an important L.A. supporter during the ex-SF mayor’s statewide runs. And now Schiff, the longtime congressman from Burbank, is all but assured the seat beside Padilla in Washington.

As with the National League West standings, there’s an ebb and flow to the power-sharing axis. L.A. has the numbers with a quarter of the state’s residents. The Bay Area has always punched above its smaller population thanks to an intense, internecine political culture that filters and hones ambitious Democrats before they go national.

Yet there was never much doubt Feinstein would be succeeded by a SoCal pol. Schiff’s chief competitor was Orange County’s Rep. Katie Porter. While Rep. Barbara Lee is revered in her Oakland-anchored district, she never mustered the money or name recognition to expand. Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna decided to pass on this race.

But don’t fret too much, Northern Californians. The Bay Area is overrepresented in the nascent 2026 governor race, which features numerous NorCal Democrats (Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, former Controller Betty Yee, and possibly Attorney General Rob Bonta). There’s a sole southern Californian in San Diegan state Sen. Toni Atkins — which could create an opening for an ambitious Angeleno.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

TOO CLOSE TO CALL: Newsom’s signature mental health bond and ballot measure — Proposition 1 — is hanging on by a thread. Support for the measure is just above 50 percent in unofficial results, though campaign spokesperson Anthony York said that they will “ultimately come out ahead” once all the outstanding votes are counted.

Dave Fratello, a former political consultant who volunteered with the campaign to defeat the measure, said the narrow margin is proof that “you can’t buy a yes, even with $20 million.” His strategy was to count on Republicans, skeptical Democrats and independents, and lower turnout overall to tank the measure.

“If we can pick off just a few Democrats and give them pause, and get them to vote no or sit it out, that's enough to take the air out,” Fratello said. “So if this loses, that's what happened.” — Rachel Bluth

ON THE BEATS

A sign is posted in front of a Google office.

A sign in front of a Google office on Jan. 30, 2024 in Mountain View, California. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

CORPORATE ESPIONAGE: A former Google engineer was charged with stealing “cutting edge” technology from the company’s artificial intelligence program as he created a competing business in China.

Linwei Ding, 38, was indicted on Tuesday by a federal grand jury on four counts of theft of trade secrets. The Justice Department said the Chinese citizen was arrested today in Newark, across the Bay from Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters, a Justice Department statement said.

In an unusual move, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges during an appearance in San Francisco at the American Bar Association’s annual white-collar crime conference.

RIGHT TO RECALL: Two Orange Unified school board trustees who fired their district superintendent and required staff to alert parents when a student shows signs of being transgender are on track to being recalled. Trustee Madison Miner was down 5.7 percentage points and Rick Ledesma was down 6 points, but there were still votes left to count and an updated tally was expected later today.

If either Miner or Ledesma is ousted, the Orange Unified board’s 4-3 conservative majority will dissolve.

The recall effort against the Southern California trustees is one of two elections in the state this year that could be seen as a referendum on the so-called parental rights education platform adopted by some on the right. Another recall against Temecula school board President Joseph Komrosky — whose board also fired a superintendent, passed a similar trans student policy and banned critical race theory — is scheduled for June. — Blake Jones

NOT SO SILENT PARTNER: After Schiff’s win Tuesday night, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee extended congratulations to the most stalwart pro-Israel Democrat in the field — and revealed they invested heavily to boost his candidacy.

“Rep. Schiff’s strong support of the U.S.-Israel relationship reflects the views of the vast majority of Americans. We were proud to contribute $5 million to the pro-Schiff super PAC Standing Strong,” said Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for the United Democracy Project, the super PAC arm of AIPAC.

The donation will show up in the March 20 campaign finance filings, according to the group. The quiet cash infusion stands in contrast to AIPAC’s attention-grabbing spending against state Sen. Dave Min for a toss-up Orange County House seat. Min is currently on track to qualify for the November general election, but that race has not yet been called. — Melanie Mason

WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY

REVENGE OF THE MODS: The latest tally in Shasta County shows that far-right Supervisor Kevin Crye is on track to lose his seat in a recall following his efforts to disqualify the use of Dominion Voting Systems and force the county to rely on a hand count of ballots. (The Sacramento Bee)

ROAD TO CITY HALL: Larry Turner, a police officer and retired Marine, faces a March 29 trial in a lawsuit challenging whether he really lives in San Diego even as he is on track to secure the No. 2 spot in a runoff against Mayor Todd Gloria. (Voice of San Diego)

MUSK MONEY: Despite a weekend visit with former President Donald Trump, Elon Musk says he’s not donating to him or President Joe Biden. (San Francisco Chronicle)

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