Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Thursday, July 24, 2014 – 06:00 p.m.
Riverside City Councilman and congressional candidate Steve Adams spent yesterday morning touring the U.S.-Mexico border with Chris Harris, Vice President for Local 1613 of the National Border Patrol Council. Adams made the trip to the San Diego Sector of the border to get firsthand knowledge of the situation at the border.
By Jean Merl contact
Ju;y 24, 2014
In another manifestation of how the political landscape is changing under the state’s top-two election system, a Democratic club in the Antelope Valley is scheduled to host two Republican congressional candidates at its forum early next month.
By ALEXANDER BURNS | 7/20/14 5:29 PM EDT – Updated: 7/21/14 6:37 AM EDT
LOS ANGELES — The rumblings are early but unmistakable: A political earthquake is — finally — headed to California.
Published: July 16, 2014 Updated: 5:11 p.m.
WASHINGTON – Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, reported a stunning $1.9 million cash on hand as of June 30, more than eight times the war chest of his challenger, Republican Brian Nestande, who had $234,632, newly released Federal Election Commission documents show.
To read story by Cathy Taylor in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Evan Halper
July 16, 2014
When it comes to liberalizing marijuana policy, Congress has once again shown that it is not always the liberals taking the lead.
July 16, 2014
California’s Republican congressional delegation is doing its part to help Paul Chabot win in November.
Congressmen including House Majority Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, are scheduled to attend a fundraiser for Chabot on Thursday, July 24 in Washington, DC. Others listed on the invite include reps. Ken Calvert, R-Corona; Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine and Darrell Issa, R-Vista.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
July 14, 2014
Pete Aguilar and Paul Chabot each are making the case for favored candidate status in the race for a San Bernardino County congressional seat.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
By Alexander Bolton – 07/12/14 06:00 AM EDT
Immigration reform has fizzled as an issue for Democrats, who are barely mentioning it on the campaign trail despite making the issue their top domestic priority in 2013 and 2014.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 07/11/14, 9:44 PM PDT | Updated: 25 secs ago
The crisis involving tens of thousands of migrant young people and mothers with children from Central America crossing over the border into the United States has provided a source of widely differing views among the candidates running for the 31st Congressional District in November.
By Michael Flaherty and Alistair Bell
WASHINGTON Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:02am EDT
(Reuters) – A surge of Republican pressure is bringing the Federal Reserve’s long-held independence into question again, as conservative lawmakers seek to place the U.S. central bank under tougher scrutiny.
Top Stories
GOP leaders Ed Royce and Darrell Issa handle Congress very differently.
BY CATHY TAYLOR / WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF
Published: July 6, 2014 Updated: July 7, 2014 7:22 a.m.
They couldn’t be more different: the stiletto who aims for targeted foreign policy legislation and the sledgehammer who pounds away at big domestic investigations.
By MIA SHAW
July 1, 2014
Kevin McCarthy, the newly minted House Majority Leader, rose speedily through the GOP ranks during his time as a California legislator – and used political instincts he honed in Sacramento to achieve power in Congress.
Michael Muskal
June 30, 2014
The poll, released Monday, had good news and bad news for the high court, a unique institution that serves as a check and balance in the United States. People have more confidence in the court than in any other arm of government, but that may not be saying that much when confidence in the presidency stands at 29% and in the Congress at 7%.
June 26, 2014
Now that Lesli Gooch has dropped her request for a recount in the 31st Congressional District, Republican Paul Chabot and Democrat Pete Aguilar can now focus on the Nov. 4 general election.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
By Staff Report
Posted: 06/26/14, 12:00 AM PDT |
Republican candidate Lesli Gooch, who finished third in the 31st Congressional District primary race earlier this month, decided late Wednesday to discontinue pursuing a recount of the ballots that began earlier in the day.
By Daniel Newhauser Posted at 5:11 p.m. on June 24
Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, told Republicans Tuesday he could have an announcement within days on whether the House will file a lawsuit against President Barack Obama, challenging the executive actions that have become the keystone of the administration.
By JAMES HOHMANN | 6/25/14 1:16 AM EDT Updated: 6/25/14 7:22 AM EDT
Tuesday night was bad for Democrats, good for the GOP establishment and great for incumbents of both parties.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014 – 09:45 a.m.
A recount of select voting precincts, in the close 31st Congressional District contest, will start Wednesday.
Published: June 22, 2014 Updated: 6:26 p.m.
Paul Chabot has Rancho Cucamonga to thank for his win, and southwest Riverside County came through for Jeff Stone, according to a detailed breakdown of results from the June 3 primary.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
BY DAVID HOOD / WASHINGTON BUREAU
Published: June 21, 2014 Updated: 9:18 p.m.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite the coming exodus of three stars from California’s delegation, Kevin McCarthy’s elevation to the second-most powerful position in Congress marks a historical peak in the Golden State’s political clout.
Politics
By Aaron C. Davis
June 21, 2014 at 7:56 PM
During his first year as the Republican leader in the California State Assembly, Kevin McCarthy sent flowers to the wife of a fellow GOP lawmaker in honor of the couple’s anniversary. The woman called her husband gushing over the bouquet — only to learn that he did not deserve the credit.
The Fix
By Philip Bump
June 20, 2014
Gallup released a new poll on Thursday revealing that only seven percent of Americans have any real confidence in Congress. It’s an historic low, and probably one that 93 percent of Americans think is still higher than it should be.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 06/18/14, 8:24 PM PDT | Updated: 23 secs ago
Redlands Tea Party Patriots board member John Berry on Wednesday called for a recount in the 31st Congressional District primary race on behalf of Republican Lesli Gooch, who finished 209 votes behind Democrat Pete Aguilar, according to the certified election count.
Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Richard Simon
June 19, 2014
Republicans are challenging the president’s characterization of the surge in young immigrants from Central America across the southern border as an unforeseen crisis, accusing his administration of contributing to the influx and demanding that he deploy National Guard troops and other resources to secure the border.
By Michael Doyle
McClatchy Washington Bureau
Published: Thursday, Jun. 19, 2014 – 3:17 pm
Last Modified: Thursday, Jun. 19, 2014 – 10:27 pm
WASHINGTON — Republicans in the House of Representatives on Thursday elected Bakersfield, Calif., native Kevin McCarthy as majority leader, giving California’s Central Valley a leg up on Capitol Hill.
Thursday, June 19, 2014 – 02:00 p.m.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), as expected, was selected Republican Majority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, Thursday afternnon.
June 17, 2014
Paul Chabot has Rancho Cucamonga to thank for his win and southwest Riverside County came through for Jeff Stone, according to a detailed breakdown of results from the June 3 primary.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
By Matt Fuller
Posted at 5:50 p.m. on June 16, 2014
Raúl R. Labrador is gunning to make Thursday’s House GOP majority leader contest an electoral upset on par with Eric Cantor’s primary loss last week to Dave Brat. But Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy is not just trying to win the race — he wants to make a statement.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 06/15/14, 5:12 PM PDT | Updated: 45 secs ago
After a stinging defeat for conservative gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly in the June 3 primary, the defeat of Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Virginia primary election has provided Inland Empire tea party conservatives some level of encouragement.
Melanie Mason
June 13, 2014
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the leading contender to be the next House majority leader, slammed Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers Friday for striking a budget deal that includes hundreds of millions of dollars for the controversial high-speed rail project.
Friday, June 13, 2014 – 03:00 p.m.
It’s official!
Mayor Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) will face Paul Chabot (R-Rancho Cucamonga) in a November runoff to decide who will replace retiring Congressman Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga).
By Matt Fuller
Posted at 8:29 p.m. on June 12
Updated 9:49 p.m. | Rules Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas has dropped out of the race to replace Eric Cantor as majority leader, helping clear a path for Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California to ascend to the No. 2 post in the House.
By JAKE SHERMAN, JOHN BRESNAHAN,
ANNA PALMER and LAUREN FRENCH
6/11/14 – 8:09 PM EDT Updated: 6/12/14 – 8:44 AM EDT
On June 19, Kevin McCarthy was scheduled to headline a birthday fundraiser for his friend Eric Cantor on the rooftop of 101 Constitution, a swank office building with sweeping views of the Capitol.
Instead, that day will be all about McCarthy.
Published: June 10, 2014 Updated: 10:56 p.m.
Six other candidates and the more than $2 million they raised stood in the way of Paul Chabot and a spot on the November ballot for an Inland congressional seat.
Nonetheless, the 40-year-old Navy veteran from Rancho Cucamonga won first place with almost 27 percent of the vote in the June 3 primary for the 31st Congressional District.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Josh Richman
Tuesday, June 10th, 2014 at 4:32 pm
Rep. Jeff Denham’s amendment to would cut off federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project was approved by the House on Tuesday.
By Robert Costa
June 11, 2014
Midnight had long since passed, but the lights were still on at the Capitol, where House Republicans were already planning — and tensely arguing about — how to move ahead amid the chaos of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s stunning primary loss.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jun. 10, 2014 – 12:00 am
Last Modified: Tuesday, Jun. 10, 2014 – 12:49 am
Months ago, without saying it publicly, Democrats gave up hopes of regaining control of the House of Representatives and began concentrating resources on saving their command of the U.S. Senate.
Sunday, June 8, 2014 – 11:30 a.m.
Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) will now face Paul Chabot (R-Rancho Cucamonga) in the runoff election to decide who will represent the 31st Congressional District.
What a choice!
At the Races — Roll Call’s Politics Blog
By Emily Cahn Posted at 8:22 p.m. on June 6
In California’s 31st District, Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar maintained a 181-vote lead over Republican Lesli Gooch Friday, after the San Bernardino County Elections Office released an updated vote tally.
By IE Business Daily
June 7, 2014
Democrat Pete Aguilar survived the race for second place to make the runoff against Republican Paul Chabot in the 31st Congressional Race.
Published: June 6, 2014 Updated: 10:46 p.m.
Two of the tightest Inland races from Tuesday’s primary election could be headed for recounts, as candidates hoping for a coveted November ballot spot have yet to concede.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 06/06/14, 7:50 PM PDT | Updated: 1 min ago
Another batch of votes added to the total Friday made it less likely though still statistically possible that Republican Lesli Gooch will knock Democrat Pete Aguilar out of the 31st Congressional District race, but already the campaigns are moving to the next stage.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jun. 5, 2014 – 9:58 pm
It’s risky – perhaps even foolhardy – to read much into the results of an abysmally low turnout primary election.
Thursday, June 5, 2014 – 04:05 p.m.
Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) will likely be the candidate, who will face Paul Chabot (R-Rancho Cucamonga), in a November runoff to decide who will represent the 31st Congressional District.
By Emily Cahn
Posted at 11:52 a.m. on June 4
With two Republicans advancing to the general in California’s 25th District open-seat race, the losing Democrat conceded the race on Wednesday and backed one of his two former GOP opponents.
By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE and CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN | 6/4/14 7:07 PM EDT Updated: 6/5/14 10:31 AM EDT
President Barack Obama’s Rose Garden appearance Saturday afternoon with Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s parents was an attempt to humanize the prisoner swap to deflect potential criticism of letting five Taliban leaders out of Guantánamo Bay, White House aides say.
It didn’t work.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014 – 09:00 a.m.
Here’s a recap of the June 3 Primary Election results for contests of interest.
Record low, and we mean low, turnout was projected, and it happened!
But no one expected it to be this low.
Monday, June 2, 2014 – 05: 30 p.m.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) hit Lesli Gooch (R-Rancho Cucamonga) in mailboxes again today.
By IE Business Daily
Saturday, May 31, 2014
What a difference a week makes, and a million dollars in independent campaign expenditures. Apparently, with the low returns on vote-by-mail ballots and expectations of even lower turnout on election day, no one is certain about what will happen in Tuesday’s California Primary.
Friday, May 30, 2014 – 02:00 p.m.
The anticipated record low turnout for the June 3 Primary Election has made the contest for the 31st Congressional District seat an absolute “free-for-all”.
Friday, May 30, 2014 – 01:30 p.m.
Conservative Democrat Veronica Franco (D) lashes out on Congressman Mark Takano (D-Riverside) on The Lou Desmond Show, broadcast on San Bernardino-based KTIE-AM 590, Thursday evening (5/29/14).
To hear the interview in the second segment of the podcast, click the following link: The Lou Desmond Show
May 29, 2014
The mailbox isn’t just a weapon for Democrats in the 31st Congressional District.
Paul Chabot is furious about a mailer sent by a rival GOP candidate that portrays him as a fake Republican who pocketed taxpayer money and went easy on violent criminals.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
Published: May 27, 2014 Updated: 10:10 p.m.
Lesli Gooch talks about her experience on Capitol Hill as she campaigns to replace retiring Rep. Gary Miller of Rancho Cucamonga in next week’s primary, yet Gooch has never been elected.
To read story by Elizabeth Held in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Sunday, May 25, 2014 – 11:00 a.m.
No matter how you slice it, the contest to replace Congressman Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga), in the 31st Congressional District, has all the ingredients of fiercely competitive contest.
May 24, 2014
Today’s episode of “Inland Attack Ads” takes us to the 31st Congressional District in San Bernardino County, where four candidates are greedy lobbyists and another is a tax deadbeat if you believe what’s in your mailbox.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
Published: May 23, 2014 Updated: 6:28 p.m.
As the June 3 primary election nears, two Inland races are becoming money magnets attracting special committees with distant addresses and deep pockets.
Independent expenditure committees have spent almost $800,000 as of Wednesday to help or hinder two feuding Republican candidates in the 28th state Senate District, which will represent southwest Riverside County and the county’s desert communities.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
Jean Merl
May 22, 2014
Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar has raised more than $1 million in his race for an open Inland Empire congressional district seat, his campaign reported Thursday.
Monday, May 19, 2014 – 09:00 a.m.
The race to represent the 31st Congressional District continued on a heated trajectory last week.
By BURGESS EVERETT | 5/18/14 5:05 PM EDT
Senate negotiators toiled for months to revive long-term unemployment benefits in a manner that could draw the support of both centrist Republicans and liberal Democrats.
But in a few days, that effort will be all for naught.
May 14, 2014
One of Democrats’ biggest electoral embarrassments in 2012 could repeat itself this year, according to a pollster who recently surveyed a hotly contested Inland congressional district.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Kathleen Hennessey, Michael A. Memoli
May 15, 2014
Without quick action by Congress, the U.S. Transportation Department may begin scaling back or halting work on thousands of roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects at the height of the construction season this July, when the nation’s Highway Trust Fund is expected to run dry.
BY DAVID HOOD AND ELIZABETH HELD / WASHINGTON BUREAU
Published: April 24, 2014 Updated: May 13, 2014 7:28 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Incumbency and established fundraising are two of the most powerful advantages two Inland congressmen have over their challengers in the June 3 primary battle.
Reps. Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, and Ken Calvert, R-Corona, both have amassed war chests that outstrip their respective challengers by hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Federal Election Commission filings released April 15.
To read story by David Hood and Elizabeth Held in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
May 12, 2014; 10:10 PM
Rep. Raul Ruiz of Palm Desert is expected to ride his name recognition and other advantages of incumbency to one of the top two spots in the June 3 California primary.
To read story by Elizabeth Held in The Press Enterprise, click here.
By BURGESS EVERETT | 5/12/14 2:43 PM EDT Updated: 5/12/14 3:37 PM EDT
An earmark revival may be causing a stir in the Capitol — but John Boehner said there’s no way the House is going back to that “nonsense” under his leadership.
May 07, 2014; 10:36 PM
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter is broadly expected to cruise to re-election in November, but that’s not keeping his two opponents from planning spirited, grassroots campaigns. James Kimber, a Democrat, and Mike Benoit, a Libertarian, are both working to end Hunter’s congressional career.
To read story by Elizabeth Held in The Press Enterprise, click here.
By Brian Fung
May 7 at 6:05 pm
A key House committee has approved a package of NSA reforms that would end the spy agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records, nearly a year after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed the program’s existence.
By Josh Hicks and Ed O’Keefe,
May 8, 2014
The House voted Wednesday to hold former Internal Revenue Service official Lois G. Lerner in contempt of Congress and request a special prosecutor to investigate the agency’s targeting of advocacy groups during the past two election cycles.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014 – 09:30 a.m.
Clueless Mayor Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), the Democrat Party’s preferred candidate to replace retiring Congressman Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga), continues his head-in-the-sand approach to campaigning from two years ago.
Two years ago when he unexpectedly failed to make a runoff.
May 5, 2014, 1:46pm PDT
Kathy Robertson
Senior Staff Writer- Sacramento Business Journal
Almost two years since the U.S. Supreme Court approved the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, the Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation gets a shot in appeals court this week at unwinding the mandate based on how it was enacted.
David Lauter
Monday, May 5, 2014
Six months out from the November midterm election, Republicans have a strong advantage which, if it holds up, would likely translate into significant gains in Congress, a new nationwide survey indicates.
By Steven Dennis
Posted at 12:21 p.m. on May 5, 2014
These aren’t the poll results President Barack Obama is looking for. A new USA Today/Pew poll has ugly numbers for the president’s Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections and even uglier figures for the president.
Sunday, May 4, 2014 – 11:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, May 4, 2014 – 01:00 p.m.
Information, or the lack thereof, may haunt one of the republican candidates running in the hotly-contested 31st Congressional District.
Saturday, May 3, 2014 – 11:00 a.m.
The race to replace retiring Congressman Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga) is really heating up.
A few assumptions, previously discussed here, appear to be materializing.
May 02, 2014; 06:50 PM
Rep. Raul Ruiz has more than $1.5 million in cash on hand as he defends his congressional seat for the first time, campaign finance records show.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
May 02, 2014; 11:11 PM
WASHINGTON — Freshman Democrat Mark Takano of Riverside, boosted by Democratic Party support and armed with far more money than his three challengers, is expected to successfully defend his seat.
To read story by David Hood in The Press Enterprise, click here.
By Steven Dennis
Posted at 5:36 p.m. on April 29
Updated 6:20 p.m. | Speaker John A. Boehner talked to the leading Republican pushing for an unemployment insurance extension, telling Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada on Tuesday that he won’t budge from demands for add-ons that would create jobs before he will put the measure on the House floor.
By Jean Merl
April 28, 2014, 2:12 p.m.
Two of the four Democrats vying to succeed Rep. Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga) on Monday announced cable TV ads in the Inland Empire district.
By Dan Balz and Peyton M. Craighill
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Democrats face serious obstacles as they look to the November elections, with President Obama’s approval rating at a new low and a majority of voters saying they prefer a Congress in Republican hands to check the president’s agenda, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
By Ed O’Keefe
Sunday, April 27, 2014
President Obama’s record is “littered” with promises — ranging from an economic stimulus plan to a new health-care law — that have not panned out, Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) charged Saturday as he touted measures passed in recent months by the House meant to spur job creation.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
April 23, 2014
As part of his return to politics, Mitt Romney is choosing sides in the contest to succeed retiring Rep. Buck McKeon in Southern California.
April 19, 2014
Rep. Raul Ruiz has more than $1.5 million in cash on hand as he defends his congressional seat for the first time, campaign finance records show.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in The PE Political Empire Empire Blog, click here.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
April 18, 2014
In politics, it’s never too early to plan.
A Democratic super PAC announced Friday that it has reserved more than $800,000 in television time for the home stretch of the general election in California.
Thursday, April 17, 2014 – 12:30 p.m.
Money continues to flow into the contest to replace Gary Miller in the 31st Congressional District.
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2014 – 12:00 am
California voters remain intensely disapproving of the work conducted on their behalf on Capitol Hill, but they continue to offer a more upbeat assessment of the efforts of their own representatives, according to the latest Field Poll.
April 14, 2014
Here are a couple noteworthy blogs on Lesli Gooch, one of the Republicans running for a San Bernardino County congressional seat.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in The PE Political Empire Blog, click here.