Both President Biden and former President Trump overwhelmingly win their party’s primary in California and most other Super Tuesday states. Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey will face off against Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for California’s coveted U.S. Senate seat this November. Marisa Lagos, Scott Shafer and LAist's Austin Cross are joined by a slew of guests to analyze the Super Tuesday results so far. From our California Newsroom live special coverage of California’s primary elect...
Mar 06, 2024•54 min
Concerns over crime and public safety are the backdrop for a lively and very competitive race to be L.A. County’s top prosecutor. When he first ran for office four years ago, incumbent George Gascón promised to make big changes, like not seeking the death penalty, not charging juveniles as adults and getting rid of cash bail. Now he's facing an uphill battle, with 11 candidates challenging him — including three of his own deputies. Scott and Marisa are joined by LAist correspondent Frank Stoltze...
Mar 05, 2024•30 min
For years, candidates for office in San Francisco have been allowed to include Chinese names to appear on bilingual ballots. But after complaints that some of those Chinese names are a little over the top, with Chinese characters symbolizing qualities like “virtue” or “power," local elections officials are cracking down. Scott talks with reporter Han Li, who has been covering this for the San Francisco Standard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 02, 2024•24 min
Days before the Super Tuesday primary, Governor Gavin Newsom joins Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer to talk about his ballot measure to build mental health treatment facilities and how he thinks the state should be handling retail theft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 01, 2024•34 min
Los Angeles Congressman Adam Schiff built his reputation in Washington as former President Trump’s chief nemesis. Now he’s hoping to parlay that role into a U.S. Senate seat. Scott and Marisa talk to Schiff about his support for Israel, his evolution from a tough-on-crime Democrat to now embracing reform and what he wants to do if elected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 29, 2024•31 min
Two of the most competitive House races in the U.S. are here in California’s Central Valley, where two incumbent Republicans are locked in tight reelection races. Scott and Marisa are joined by KVPR's Joshua Yeager to analyze why the two districts are such a challenge for Democrats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 28, 2024•28 min
The Cook Political Report is the gold standard in covering campaigns. Its founder Charles Cook started it in 1984 to provide unbiased, nonpartisan analysis of every House and Senate race in the nation. One of the tools Cook developed is a shorthand for analyzing those races — a rating system that ranges from solid Republican to solid Democrat to “toss-ups," which are races that could go either way. On today's Political Breakdown, Scott chats with Cook about how analyzing political campaigns has ...
Feb 27, 2024•29 min
For most of the last three decades, California had two female senators – Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. But after the November election, there’s a chance we’ll have two men. Scott, Marisa and Guy are joined by Los Angeles Times reporter Benjamin Oreskes, who recently wrote about how women appear to be the reason why California's streak of female senators may be ending. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 24, 2024•25 min
Katie Porter won the Orange County House seat in 2018, flipping a Republican district blue. Now, the self-described "mini-van driving mom" is in a tight race for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Dianne Feinstein. Marisa and Scott chat with Congresswoman Porter about her Iowa roots, consumer advocacy and the key differences between herself and fellow Democrats Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 23, 2024•31 min
While Orange County Congresswoman Katie Porter is in a tough race for the U.S. Senate, two Democrats vying to replace her in the House are engaged in a knockdown, drag-out race. Plus, 15 candidates are vying to replace Congressman Adam Schiff. Scott and Marisa chat with POLITICO's Melanie Mason about the most competitive congressional races in Southern California. We’ll continue covering the California congressional races over the weeks leading up to Super Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choic...
Feb 22, 2024•28 min
Scott and Marisa Protests over the Israel-Hamas War continue dividing Democrats, with disagreement over what the Biden Administration should do. Scott and Marisa talk about what this means as President Biden visits California this week to fundraise. Then, Guy Marzorati joins Olivia Allen-Price, host of Bay Curious, to break down everything you need to know about Proposition 1. It’s the only statewide ballot measure in the March primary, and it's meant to address homelessness, drug addiction and ...
Feb 21, 2024•28 min
Scott, Marisa and Guy chat about the week's top stories in politics, including why labor won't take no for an answer in Sacramento and Democrats' big win in the New York special election to replace George Santos. Plus, is an intra-party primary squabble killing Democrats' chance to pick up a GOP House seat? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 17, 2024•24 min
Are billionaires taking over politics in the Golden State? Marisa and Scott sit down with longtime political insider and journalist Gil Duran to talk about the ongoing political plays by tech and finance elites in San Francisco, Solano County and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 16, 2024•31 min
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is retiring after more than 30 years representing Silicon Valley, and several well-known Democrats are vying to replace her. Scott talks to Guy Marzorati, who lives in that congressional district and has been following the race closely. We'll continue covering the most competitive congressional races in California over the next three weeks leading up to Super Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 15, 2024•28 min
The 2014 criminal justice ballot measure Prop. 47 has been the subject of discussion, debate, criticism and pushback for years. Critics blame Prop. 47 for what they say is a rise in property crimes like shoplifting — but is that real, or just perception? Would changing Prop. 47 to toughen penalties reduce high profile smash and grab crimes? Or does law enforcement already have the tools to prosecute that? Marisa Lagos joins Scott Shafer to discuss what she found after months of reporting. Read m...
Feb 14, 2024•28 min
Members of California’s Legislative Black Caucus released its list of priorities following recommendations from the state’s Reparations Task Force. They include 14 bills aimed at addressing inequities in education, healthcare, criminal justice and business … but no mention of cash payments. KQED’s Scott Shafer and Annelise Finney discuss the process so far with LA Times columnist Erika D. Smith, who calls the recommendations “half-baked and disorganized.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Feb 13, 2024•28 min
The U.S. Senate race is heating up with battling TV ads ahead of next week's second candidate debate. Plus, the congressional race for Katie Porter's Orange County House seat gets down and dirty with two Democrats trading allegations. Scott, Marisa and Guy chat about the week's top political news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 10, 2024•22 min
Another day in court for former President Donald Trump — this time, the Supreme Court considers whether he can be taken off the Colorado presidential ballot. Marisa and Scott talk with Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School, about the oral arguments and other legal questions Trump is facing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 09, 2024•31 min
The Republican effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed — in part due to a surprising defection from a conservative House member from California. Plus, the congressional race to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is getting nasty in Kern County, as MAGA Republicans pile onto McCarthy's anointed successor, Assemblymember Vince Fong. Scott and Marisa chat about all that with Jeremy B. White, senior political reporter for POLITICO. Learn more about your ad ch...
Feb 08, 2024•30 min
Latino voters are likely to play a big role in determining the outcome of races up and down the state and up and down the ballot this year. About a quarter of the Latinos who are eligible to vote in the entire nation live here in California. But for candidates trying to win over Latino voters, there are some obstacles. For a better sense of the state’s growing Latino electorate, Scott Shafer spoke with Matt Barreto of the Latino Policy and Politics Institute at UCLA. Learn more about your ad cho...
Feb 07, 2024•27 min
Ballots for the March 5th primary election are arriving in mailboxes across the state this week. In California, the titles and summaries for ballot measures are written by the attorney general, but some say Democrats in the job too often put their thumb on the scale with skewed summaries to help their allies. Plus, the life and death of legislation in Sacramento. Why are some bills introduced knowing they'll never make it out of committee, much less to the governor's desk? Scott and Marisa chat ...
Feb 06, 2024•28 min
New fundraising totals in the U.S. Senate race show Adam Schiff with a huge monetary advantage over fellow Democrats Katie Porter and Barbara Lee and Republican Steve Garvey. Plus, does the GOP have a Taylor Swift problem? Scott, Marisa and Guy take a look at some of the top stories bubbling up in the world of politics this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 03, 2024•23 min
With migrants attempting to cross the U.S. southern border in record numbers, immigration is becoming one of the top issues in this year’s presidential campaign. President Biden is adopting some hard-line positions, even vowing to "shut down" the border if Congress passes a bipartisan deal. Marisa and Scott dig into the crisis at the border with Hamed Aleaziz, an immigration reporter for the New York Times who's covered the issue since former President Trump’s tumultuous term. Learn more about y...
Feb 02, 2024•31 min
The dean of UC Berkeley’s Law School has signed onto a legal brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that Donald Trump is ineligible to be president due to his participation in the January 6th insurrection. Scott talks with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky about that issue and all the other legal perils Trump is facing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 01, 2024•28 min
California’s high-speed rail project has been way over budget and way behind schedule since voters approved it in 2008. But progress is actually being made. Scott talks with KQED transportation editor Dan Brekke and CalMatters reporter Yousef Baig about the impact of the high-speed rail project in the Central Valley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 31, 2024•24 min
Vice President Kamala Harris’ push to rally voters in San José around support for reproductive rights ran headlong into protests on Monday, demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza. Scott talks about that with Guy Marzorati, who was there before and during Harris' appearance. Plus, President Joe Biden is facing major problems with younger voters. They’re upset his climate change policies haven’t gone further, and they're disaffected by his unwavering support for Israel i...
Jan 30, 2024•26 min
With the New Hampshire primary in the rearview mirror, the presidential race is heating up. Next up? South Carolina. Plus, Vice President Kamala Harris stumps in California, keeping abortion rights at the top of Democrats' agenda. And, how California politicians are stepping up to help President Joe Biden. Scott, Marisa and Guy chat about the week's news in politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 27, 2024•23 min
Barbara Lee is the only woman of color and the most progressive candidate running for U.S. Senate in California. If elected, it would be the cap to a long career that started with Shirley Chisholm's groundbreaking 1972 presidential campaign. Marisa and Guy chat with Oakland Congresswoman Barbara Lee in the first of Political Breakdown's interviews with the candidates hoping to claim the seat held for more than 30 years by the late Dianne Feinstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...
Jan 26, 2024•32 min
A wave of layoffs decimates the Los Angeles Times newsroom, with cuts hitting younger journalists of color especially hard and upending the billionaire owner's promise to expand the paper's coverage of L.A.'s diverse communities. Scott talks with Geeta Anand, the dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and L.A. Times columnist Gustavo Arellano about the threat to local journalism and how sweeping media layoffs will affect coverage of a high-stakes election year. Learn more about y...
Jan 25, 2024•24 min
Last night the four leading candidates for the U.S. Senate once held by Dianne Feinstein squared off in their first debate. The candidates spelled out their positions on the Israel-Hamas war, Trump, the economy and abortion. Scott and Marisa dissect the debate with POLITICO's California Bureau Chief Christopher Cadelago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 24, 2024•29 min
