Women are running for office across California and the nation, energized by the resistance and empowered by the #MeToo movement, though they face systemic discrimination and bias they are seeking to reform through their candidacy and leadership. This year we, again, have the opportunity to course-correct for the deeply problematic underrepresentation of women in our state legislature — 27 of 120 state legislators (22.5%) — and other elected offices. We will continue to prioritize progressive women — especially women of color — in our California Donor Table endorsements, as we did in our first endorsement cycle in 2016 (in which all 7 state legislative candidates/champions we endorsed in the primary were women, as were 11 of the 13 in the general; the majority were also women of color) and in the 2017 special election of Wendy Carrillo in Assembly District 51.
Please let us know if there are any specific races or candidates you would like for us to consider for endorsement.
Congressional Races
UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies — led by CDT/F ally Lisa García Bedolla — released a poll showing that likely voters in congressional districts 48 (Costa Mesa) and 25 (Lancaster) are unhappy with Trump and not inclined to re-elect Representatives Dana Rohrabacher and Steve Knight, respectively.
Statewide Offices
Public Policy Institute also released a new poll showing that Antonio Villaraigosa virtually tied (within the margin of error) with Gavin Newsom in the race for governor. Per Scott Lay’s The Nooner: “…Villaraigosa is perceived as the most appealing candidate within the consistent top three to the business community. While some may stick with [Republicans] Cox or Ose, it’s expected that business is going to put in a lot of money into independent expenditures to get Villaraigosa in the top two. This would be particularly true of health care interests who fear Newsom’s passion for single-payer and support of SB 562, in contrast with Villaraigosa’s more cautious approach.” (emphasis CDT)
We will be keeping an eye on this race to determine when and how endorsements and/or investments will be strategic.