Any time a California politician makes it to the national stage, the epithets follow: California radical, San Francisco liberal, etc. It’s happened to Gov. Gavin Newsom, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the list goes on.
But what if it’s the Democratic nominee for president and possibly the first woman to hold the nation’s highest office?
Republicans led by former President Donald Trump are using those attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris. To find out how successful that strategy may be, CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu and photographer Larry Valenzuela are following Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on their tour of battleground states that will likely decide the 2024 race, again.
In Michigan, some voters told Stella they see California as its own bizarre place, separate from the real America. This version of the state, where “people poop on the sidewalks,” is rife with crime and homelessness, and its Democratic leaders are to blame.
Cheryl Costantino, a Republican teacher in Macomb County, says violent crimes in San Francisco increased while Harris was district attorney.
· Constantino: “The fact that she’s from California should make her more sensitive to those issues, not less sensitive. Just because she goes to Washington doesn’t mean that she should be removed from them.”
But Harris’ “California-ness” could be made more palatable by Walz.
Democrat Carl Marlinga, who is running for Congress in Macomb County, praised Walz’s approachability when he called Trump and Vance “weird,” as if Walz were an “ordinary guy … sitting down for dinner at a deli somewhere.”
· Marlinga: “We like conservation, we like sports, we like fishing, we like hunting. We’re not like the Democrats in New York and California, because we’re not here to grab your guns and to change your life and to preach to you about things.”
Read more about Harris and swing-state voters in Stella’s story.
Legislators going to DNC: The Democratic National Convention where Harris will formally accept the nomination overlaps with the second-to-last week of the California Legislature’s session. But that isn’t stopping 22 lawmakers from going to Chicago to see history in the making on Aug. 19-22, Politico reported Thursday.
Senate Democratic leader Mike McGuire of Santa Rosa isn’t going, but said he is excited, nonetheless. “This momentous event is a historic opportunity that is good for California, good for our nation, and good for all those who support equality, freedom, and democracy,” he said in a statement.
November election: It’s not too early to get informed. Keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails. Check out our Voter Guide, including updates and videos on the 10 propositions and a FAQ on how to vote. And read up on the history of ballot measures in California.
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