State Democratic chair may seek Assembly seat
SACRAMENTO — California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks declined to address speculation that he is running for the North Bay Assembly seat now held by Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, who is not seeking reelection.
“I’ll turn to any other decision or announcement after the convention,” said Hicks, a Los Angeles transplant who now lives in the district.
That sounds like someone with an announcement to make. And it could come soon, as the California Democratic Party convention ended Sunday. He will have company. Healdsburg Mayor Ariel Kelley, Mendocino County Supervisor Ted Williams and Santa Rosa City Council Member Chris Rogers are among those seeking the seat.
Hicks does not have to resign as party chair if he runs for the office. If he does, vice chair Betty Yee of Alameda would replace him, at least on a temporary basis. Yee also might be busy soon: She is planning to run for governor in 2026.
Here are some takeaways from the convention, which was halted Saturday by protesters seeking a Gaza cease-fire:
No endorsement for Senate: As expected, no Senate candidate won the support of 60% of the delegates this weekend to win the party’s endorsement. The final tally: Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland won 963 votes (41%), Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank received 933 (40%), Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine snagged 373 (16%), and Silicon Valley business executive Lexi Reese received three (0.1%).
The party’s executive board will hold another endorsement vote at its May meeting, after the March 5 primary.
Lee would have benefited the most from the party’s nod, as she trails Schiff and Porter in most polls.
Gay marriage helps turnout?
Democrats continue to be worried about young voters not turning out in November, possibly dooming the reelection chances of President Joe Biden.
But Assembly Member Evan Low, D-Sunnyvale, thinks he knows what might help energize young voters: ACA5, his proposed state constitutional amendment to repeal Proposition 8, the 2008 ban on same-sex marriage approved by 52% of California voters.
Yes, same-sex marriage has been the Supreme Court-blessed law of the land since 2015, but Prop. 8 remains in the California Constitution, and advocates worry that it could become law again. That concern was fueled last year when conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argued in the case that overturned the right to abortion that many of the same legal foundations that upheld same-sex marriage should be reexamined, too.
With that threat out there, Low wants to ensure that same-sex marriage survives. A potential added benefit is that it may bring out younger voters who have seen how rights can disappear suddenly.
“This helps drive turnout of our natural base of younger voters,” Low said.
There is little question that it would pass. The campaign’s internal poll has it at 75%.
The Kevin McCarthy factor: Ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is pondering whether to seek another term in his Bakersfield-area seat. Democrats don’t think they can retake it, but some are hoping McCarthy leaves for another reason: He has been one of the GOP’s most prolific fundraisers, and he has been especially helpful to California Republicans.
Committees controlled by McCarthy have raised $13.7 million so far this campaign cycle, on pace to match the $27.3 million he raised in 2022, according to fundraising reports compiled by Open Secrets.
But donors are less likely to steer money to McCarthy if he doesn’t hold the cachet of being speaker.
That is good news to former Central Valley Democratic Assembly Member Adam Gray, who is squaring off in a rematch against Rep. John Duarte, R-Turlock (Stanislaus County). Duarte beat Gray by 564 votes last year in a district that includes all of Madera and Merced counties along with parts of Fresno, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
Said Gray: “It will 100% help.”
Another number may help Gray even more. Turnout in next year’s presidential election year is expected to be far higher than the 133,556 voters who cast ballots in last year’s midterm. If that occurs, Gray will have a lot more Democrats supporting him in a district where Biden defeated Donald Trump by 11 percentage points.