Jim Erwin
Sunday, November 4, 2018 – 12:30 p.m.

Now that I finally have some time to do some writing on politics, let’s get to it!

I prefer to render political observations after taking in data from a broad spectrum of sources and feedback. Two years ago it had become pretty clear to me in the final four weeks leading up to the presidential Election that Donald Trump would prevail.

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Los Angeles taxpayers paid for airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, and meals, according to detailed expense reports obtained by NBC News

By Eric Leonard and Andrew Blankstein
Published at 11:42 AM PDT on Sep 7, 2018 | Updated at 5:44 PM PDT on Sep 7, 2018

Armed, plain-clothes LAPD officers were dispatched to California cities outside of Los Angeles at least a dozen times to provide security for U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris at public events, media appearances, and a party.

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Saturday, August 25, 2018 – 10:00 p.m.

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) passed away Saturday afternoon following a heroic battle with a treatable, but incurable, form of brain cancer know as Glioblastoma.

He was 81.

McCain’s family was by his side when he left this Earth.

Jim Erwin smiling during a September court hearing he will not be re-tried on any charges regarding the Colonies corruption case, Friday, at San Bernardino Justice Center in San Bernardino, Ca., September 22, 2017. Judge Michael A. Smith dismissed all of the remaining counts against the former assistant county assessor and sheriff’s labor union president. (John Valenzuela/The Sun/SCNG)

By Joe Nelson | jnelson@scng.com and Richard K. De Atley | rdeatley@scng.com | San Bernardino Sun
Published: June 7, 2018 at 5:54 pm | Updated: June 7, 2018 at 7:51 pm

A former county official who escaped conviction in the Colonies corruption case has filed a $25 million federal lawsuit accusing San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos and other prosecutors of malicious prosecution, fabricated evidence and retaliation.

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U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

By Sarah D. Wire
Tuesday, April 10, 2018 – 9:33 a.m.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday endorsed Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s reelection bid.

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Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum has sued San Bernardino County and the state in federal court alleging malicious prosecution in connection with the ill-fated Colonies bribery case. Burum, who along with two co-defendants were acquitted last August on all charges, is seeking no less than $50 million in damages.

By Joe Nelson | jnelson@scng.com | San Bernardino Sun
Published: April 3, 2018 at 2:29 pm | Updated: April 3, 2018 at 3:37 pm

Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum has filed a $50 million malicious prosecution lawsuit in federal court against San Bernardino County, District Attorney Mike Ramos and former state Attorneys General Kamala Harris and Jerry Brown.

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Tuesday, April 3, 2018 – 02:45 p.m.

The first of four anticipated federal civil rights lawsuits, a result of the Colonies Criminal case debacle, was filed against San Bernardino County.

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Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum.

By Joe Nelson | jnelson@scng.com and Richard K. De Atley | rdeatley@scng.com | San Bernardino Sun
Published: March 1, 2018 at 12:51 pm | Updated: March 1, 2018 at 6:08 pm

Rancho Cucamonga investor group Colonies Partners LP on Thursday, March 1, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos and former state Attorneys General Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris, seeking $80 million in damages following a bungled bribery case the developer claims sullied its reputation.

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Thursday, March 1, 2018 – 06:35 p.m.

The civil lawsuit filed by Colonies Partners L.P. against the County of San Bernardino and various county and State of California officials is now available online.

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Former San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane, acquitted last August in an epic public corruption case that spanned nearly eight years, filed claims against the county and state on Friday alleging malicious prosecution. He is seeking more than $10 million in damages.

By Joe Nelson | jnelson@scng.com | San Bernardino Sun
February 26, 2018 at 11:05 pm

Former San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane filed malicious prosecution claims against the county and state on Friday, Feb. 23, seeking more than $10 million in damages, making him the last of the former Colonies corruption case defendants to do so.

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Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum, answers questions regarding the Colonies corruption case during an interview at his office in Rancho Cucamonga, Ca., Thursday, September 28, 2017. Burum is one of the three defendants in the San Bernardino County-Colonies corruption case that were recently found not guilty of all charges, after a prolonged trial that lasted nearly eight months. (Photo by John Valenzuela/The Sun/SCNG)

By Richard K. De Atley | rdeatley@scng.com | The Press-Enterprise
Published: January 30, 2018 at 1:32 pm | Updated: January 30, 2018 at 5:36 pm

Developer Jeffrey Burum, who was acquitted of all charges in the Colonies corruption case last year, filed on Tuesday a malicious prosecution and civil rights violation claim against San Bernardino County and the State of California, with his attorney saying the failed prosecution turned his client’s life “into a living hell.”

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Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., rallies in support of the “Dreamers” during a protest on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press)

By Carolyn Lochhead
Published: January 27, 2018
Updated: January 27, 2018 8:36 p.m.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s newly released plan to resolve the fate of young immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children would constitute the biggest change to immigration policy in decades, putting Democrats and their allies in a painful vise.

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By Dan Walters | Jan. 25, 2018 | Commentary

The state’s top political figures—U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in particular—received a harsh reminder this week that what plays in liberal California may be a liability elsewhere.

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The three-day standoff offered more proof that government closures never end well for those making the demands.

By Rachael Bade and Seung Min Kim
Published:    01/22/2018 – 02:19 PM EST
Updated:      01/22/2018 – 04:20 PM EST

Senate Democrats shut down the government in hopes of striking a deal to shield 700,000 young immigrants from deportation. In the end, they got a promise of a vote — one that Republicans argue was going to happen anyway.

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AP Top News
By Thomas Beaumont and Bill Barrow
Mar. 27, 2017

The Republican Party of “no” for Democrat Barack Obama’s eight years is having a hard time getting to “yes” in the early Donald Trump era.

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Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago and Alexei Koseff
ccadelago@sacbee.com
January 24, 2017 – 10:44 AM

Gov. Jerry Brown, plunging into position as a Democratic bulwark against Donald Trump’s presidency, warned Tuesday of looming battles with Republican-controlled Washington, using his State of the State address to assuage fears that California would turn its back on progressive policies.

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Clockwise from top left: Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Grace Napolitano (Lauren Victoria Burke, Mark Wilson, Bill Clark/ AP, Getty Images, Roll Call)

Sarah D. Wire
December 28, 2016

So far, none of California’s 55 senators and representatives have announced plans to retire ahead of the 2018 election. But after weeks at home with family during the holidays to talk about the future, such declarations could come soon.

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Sarah D. Wire and Bettina Boxall
December 9, 2016

Over Sen. Barbara Boxer’s objections, the Senate voted 78 to 21 Friday evening to pass sweeping water infrastructure legislation that changes how much water is pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to San Joaquin Valley farmers and Southern California.

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Senator-elect Kamala Harris, center, speaks with Long Beack Mayor Robert Garcia, left, and Angelica Salas of the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles during a meeting with immigrant families and activists on Nov. 10. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Phil Willon
November 15, 2016

Newly elected U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris said she’s already been in contact with her West Coast colleagues about banding together to implement Democratic priorities in the political era of President-elect Donald Trump.

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Phil Willon
Oct. 17, 2016, 1:18 p.m.

A super PAC backing Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) for U.S. Senate launched a radio ad targeting Republican voters and attacking her rival, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, as “another Barbara Boxer — a Bay Area liberal backed by the Democratic Party establishment.”

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A Wells Fargo office in Oakland. The bank’s CEO says that aggressive sales tactics were not part of an “orchestrated effort.” (Ben Margot / Associated Press)

James F. Peltz
September 19, 2016

When the Senate Banking Committee grills Wells Fargo & Co.’s chairman Tuesday about the banking giant’s sales scandal, look for the word “clawback” to come up more than once.

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Aggressive sales tactics by Wells Fargo & Co. employees led to a $185-million settlement package with federal and state regulators last week. Above, a branch in Miami. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Jim Puzzanghera
September 12, 2016

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing next week on the aggressive sales tactics by Wells Fargo & Co. employees that led to a $185-million settlement package with federal and state regulators.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez, left, and California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. (Associated Press)

Phil Willon
July 27, 2016 – 9:00.P.M.

Half of California’s likely Republican voters and a third of independents said they wouldn’t vote for either candidate in the state’s U.S. Senate race this November, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange). (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)

Phil Willon, Jazmine Ulloa
July 22, 2016

Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez said in an interview with a Spanish-language television station that she believes President Obama may have endorsed rival Kamala Harris in California’s U.S. Senate race because they are both black, injecting a dose of racial politics into a historic contest that in November will elect the state’s first African American or Latino senator.

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U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez left. California Attorney General Kamala Harris right.

Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
June 22, 2016 – 2:20 PM

• Ex-Los Angeles mayor calls her an ‘independent thinker’
• Sanchez: ‘I will work with leaders across the aisle’
• Harris has strong support from Democrats and leads in poll

Democrat Loretta Sanchez’s gambit to attract dissident Republicans to her U.S. Senate campaign received a shot of encouragement Wednesday with the endorsement of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
June 18, 2016 – 2:00 PM

• Harris vs. Sanchez will be first statewide top-two test
• What happens will set template for future contests
• Sanchez hopes Republicans, independents help her

California has had its brief moment of semi-relevance in this year’s wild and woolly presidential contest and Hillary Clinton can now safely count on its 55 electoral votes.

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Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez left. California Attorney General Kamala Harris right.

Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
June 8, 2016 – 5:51 PM

• Harris more than doubled Sanchez’s vote percentage
• Sanchez will have to increase fundraising clip to compete
• Republican donors are considering financial support

State Attorney General Kamala Harris carried at least 50 of 58 California counties in the U.S. Senate primary Tuesday, collecting twice the percentage of votes that went to fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez.

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Saturday, June 4, 2016 – 03:30 p.m.

Well the much talked about California Primary Election is before us.

Then things will get dull until the presidential nominating conventions. One can expect more policy speeches and sniping between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

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Phil Willon and Maloy Moore
June 1, 2016

The top two Democrats in California’s U.S. Senate race have raised more than a combined $12 million for their campaigns, but many of the state’s most generous and loyal campaign donors have yet to crack open their wallets.

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California Attorney General Kamala Harris is talking a lot these days in her bid to become a U.S. senator, but one subject she’s not mentioning is her complex role in Orange County’s highest-profile criminal case – the penalty phase in the trial of confessed mass murderer Scott Dekraai. (Cindy Yamanaka – File)

By Tony Saavedra / Staff Writer
June 1, 2016 – Updated 10:10 p.m.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris is talking a lot these days in her bid to become a U.S. senator, but one subject she’s not mentioning is her complex role in Orange County’s highest-profile criminal case – the penalty phase in the trial of confessed mass murderer Scott Dekraai.

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U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez left. California Attorney General Kamala Harris right.

By Joe Garofoli
May 13, 2016
Updated: May 13, 2016 – 2:57pm

California’s U.S. Senate race has been overshadowed by the high-profile presidential campaign but that might change a bit Friday when Democrats Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez launched TV commercials.

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Phil Willon, John Myers
May 10, 2016

U.S. Senate hopeful Kamala Harris found herself under attack Tuesday night during a fiery debate where she was accused of putting her political ambitions ahead of serving Californians as state Attorney General and pressed about why she hasn’t investigated police shootings.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) shares remarks at Girl Scouts At 100: The Launch of ToGetHerThere at Capitol Hill Cannon House Office Bldg, Caucus Room on Feb. 1, 2012, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Girl Scouts of America)

By The Southern California News Group, San Bernardino County Sun
Posted: 05/06/16 – 4:50 PM PDT |

California in November will elect a new U.S. senator for the first time in 24 years. To replace four-term Sen. Barbara Boxer, who decided not to seek re-election, we endorse Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Orange, because she has demonstrated incredible judgment on the most crucial issues of our generation, taking tough stands in the face of tremendous opposition.

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
April 26, 2016 – 3:50 PM

• 34 Californians running for U.S. Senate this year
• Which two will finish 1-2 in primary and face each other?
• Monday’s debate among five candidates left Sanchez still standing

Barbara Boxer’s decision to retire has inspired 34 men and women to seek her U.S. Senate seat this year.

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Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago and David Siders
ccadelago@sacbee.com
April 25, 2016 – 01:00 p.m.

Stockton–

Democrats Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez offered contrasting styles Monday in the first televised debate of the U.S. Senate contest, while a trio of Republicans leapt at the chance to participate in a bipartisan skirmish.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez gestures on the steps of a congressional office building in Washington during orientation week for new members of Congress. (Alex Garcia / Los Angeles Times)

Phil Willon and Noah Bierman
April 22, 2016

Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s easygoing, neighborly style has won over Orange County voters for two decades, but that blessing has come with a nettlesome curse: the occasional, stinging political gaffe.

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, from left, talks with Democratic U.S. Reps. Janice Hahn of San Pedro, Lucille Roybal-Allard of Downey and Marcy Kaptur of Ohio on the steps of the Capitol. (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call)

Phil Willon
April 13, 2016

The calls to Encino attorney Janice Kamenir-Reznik came every few weeks, pleading for her to run for the California state Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Fran Pavley.

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Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
April 8, 2016 – 1:00 PM

• 48 percent of likely voters don’t have a candidate in mind
• Harris, Sanchez continue to hold down top two positions
• Pollster describes ‘extremely quiet’ contest

Californians have the rare opportunity to vote for a new U.S. senator in two months – but nearly half of likely voters still haven’t settled on a candidate, according to the latest Field Poll.

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
April 3, 2016 – 8:01 AM

• Democrats Harris and Sanchez running 1-2 in polls
• If primary ends that way, they will face each other again
• Republican and independent voters may be decisive

Bill Carrick, the veteran political consultant who advises U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez, was obviously elated last month by a Public Policy Institute of California poll.

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U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, and Sen. Richard M. Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, at a meeting on Capitol Hill in February. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

Cathleen Decker
March 31, 2016

Don’t ask Dianne Feinstein just yet whether she plans to run for a fifth full term in the U.S. Senate, a seat that will be on the ballot in 2018.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana), left, and California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. (AP)

Phil Willon
March 28, 2016

California’s U.S. Senate campaign appears stuck in a political stasis, with nearly a third of voters still undecided about who to support in a race lost in the shadow of the nation’s presidential contest, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

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Kamala Harris (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Phil Willon
March 23, 2016 – 09:00 p.m.

With just over three months to go before the state’s June primary election, Democrats Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Santa Ana have more voter support than their Republican rivals in the race for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California.

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I’m the most qualified for the U.S. Senate, says Rep. Loretta Sanchez. The 20-year veteran of Congress is running against California Attorney General Kamala Harris in the June 7 primary.

By Sean Cockerham
scockerham@mcclatchydc.com
March 22, 2016 – 10:50 AM

• Sanchez is running in the June primary to replace Barbara Boxer, who’s retiring
• A rare elected Democrat from Orange County, she’s served in Congress for two decades
• Statements have stirred controversy, but she’s gained respect on military issues

WASHINGTON —

Whether she’s sending out cat Christmas cards, mimicking a Native American war whoop, or suggesting that up to 20 percent of Muslims might resort to violence to overthrow the Western way of life, U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California is known as much for her personality as her policy.

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Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is running for the U.S. Senate, hosts a forum at Service Employees International Union Local 721 in Riverside on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016. (Milka Soko)

Published: Feb. 21, 2016 – Updated: 5:38 p.m.

• California’s attorney general is running as a Democrat for U.S. Senate.

It makes sense, financially and otherwise, to spend on measures to prevent children from becoming criminals as adults, California Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris said during a campaign stop in Riverside on Sunday, Feb. 21.

To read article by Jeff Horseman in The Press-Enterprise, click here.

The draped seat of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who passed away Saturday.

By Burgess Everett
Published: 02/16/16 – 07:24 PM EST
Updated 02/16/16 – 08:38 PM EST

• Some Republicans are getting queasy over the optics of barring a Supreme Court nominee from even a courtesy hearing.

Mitch McConnell’s message to the White House after Antonin Scalia’s death on Saturday seemed unequivocal: Don’t even bother sending a Supreme Court nominee to Congress, we won’t act on it.

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Ben Adler
Monday, February 1, 2016 | Sacramento, CA

New fundraising reports show two Democrats lead the field in California’s U.S. Senate race, just as they do in recent polls.

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Dan Walters
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
January 28, 2016 – 4:00 PM

• Kamala Harris silent as Legislature weighs sports betting
• It should be a bedrock issue for an attorney general’s input
• Her passivity raises doubts about her being a U.S. senator

California’s attorney general has responsibilities and powers second only to those of the governor, and the office’s occupant is always in position to climb the political ladder.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif.

Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
January 20, 2016 – 5:43 PM

• Rep. Sanchez takes aim at rival Kamala Harris
• Republicans also pile on with critiques of front-runner
• Harris aide says her approach is resonating with Californians

Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez, campaigning Wednesday in Sacramento, again put aside conventional political subtleties and cut right to the point: “I think we need a Latina in the U.S. Senate.”

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California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris campaigns Sunday at the L.A. headquarters of the Building and Construction Trades Council, an organized labor group that has endorsed her U.S. Senate bid to replace the retiring Barbara Boxer. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

Kathleen Decker
January 11, 2016

The upsides of California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris’ political ambitions have been apparent as she’s climbed in politics: She charms an audience like few candidates do, speaks knowledgeably about criminal justice-related issues and stays relentlessly on message.

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Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
January 6, 2016 4:01 PM

• Two Democrats still hold top-two places
• Twice as many GOP voters remain undecided
• Harris does well with liberals, while Sanchez leads among Latinos

Attorney General Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez continue to lead the contest to succeed U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, but the all-Democratic dynamic could change once more Republican voters begin engaging in the race, according to the new Field Poll.

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
December 31, 2015 – 2:26 PM

• U.S. Senate race will be top contest
• California could play presidential role
• High-dollar ballot measures abound

Since 2016 is a number divisible by 2, this is also an election year, and that biennial fact will dominate – and perhaps distort – California politics in the forthcoming months.

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California Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, announces her candidacy for U.S. Senate during a news conference on May 14, 2015, in Santa Ana. (Sam Gangwer/The Orange County Register)

Capitol Alert
By Alexei Koseff
akoseff@sacbee.com
December 31, 2015 6:00 AM

• Sanchez, Newsom are elected officials on the list
• Senate race, initiatives the focus in 2016
• Taxes, plastic bags among key issues

As 2016 dawns in California, politics looms large. Dozens of initiatives have been filed for what could become a November ballot of record size. State political parties are calculating their odds in nearly 175 legislative and congressional races. Some candidates for statewide office in 2018 are already campaigning.

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By Christine Mai-Duc
December 18, 2015

The sweeping budget deal — a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill — tackles a number of policy areas, including making some $650 billion in tax breaks permanent, adopting new cybersecurity rules and repealing a decades-old ban on crude oil exports.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana), shown in November, is facing criticism over a comment she made about the percentage of Muslims who support a caliphate. (Tomas Ovalle)

Phil Willon
December 11, 2015

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is trying to beat back criticism over a comment she made about the percentage of Muslims who support a caliphate — the establishment of a strict Islamic state — to defend and advance their religious ideology.

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By Brian Faler
12/02/15 – 05:37 PM EST

• Budget hawks cry foul as Democratic and GOP wish lists find their way into a developing year-end bargain on tax breaks.

Congress is eyeing a year-end budget-busting tax cut blowout.

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Attorney General Kamala Harris speaks to California Democrats at the state party’s convention in May. Although the favorite to win a U.S. Senate race next year, she faces opposition from Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who could benefit from independent and Republican voters. (Damian Dovarganes/AP File)

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
November 30, 2015

• California’s system has changed legislative dynamics
• Could it also affect statewide races?
• U.S. Senate contest will be a test

Six years ago, to pass a state budget, the Legislature’s Democratic leaders agreed to place a major change in primary election voting before voters.

They’ve regretted it ever since.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Orange (Sam Gangwer/Staff Photographer)

By Martin Wisckol / Staff Columnist
Nov. 29, 2015 – Updated 12:00 a.m.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s campaign for U.S. Senate is showing signs of expanding its base beyond Southern California, giving frontrunner Kamala Harris, the state’s attorney general, reason to keep an eye on the rear-view mirror.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Alexander Bolton – 11/25/15 06:01 AM EST

Congressional leaders face several hurdles to getting a budget deal done by the Dec. 11 deadline, including a fight over health funding that is holding up the omnibus spending package.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Amie Parnes and Jonathan Swan
November 21, 2015 – 03:46 pm

Turmoil and lackluster funding in California Attorney General Kamala Harris’s Senate campaign has some Democratic operatives wondering what’s gone wrong.

Read the rest of this entry »

Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is pictured at an event in Los Angeles in September, has been cleared by the FPPC. Harris was cleared after cutting a $10,245 check back to the gift-or, after an inquiry was opened. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Phil Willon
November 20, 2015

A state ethics agency has determined that California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris did not violate state laws when she received gifts from a company owned by San Francisco interior designer Ken Fulk.

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California State Attorney General Kamala Harris speaks to California Democrats at the California Democratic Party’s convention in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday, May 16, 2015. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)

Capitol Alert
By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
November 17, 2015

• Announcement comes after heavy spending in recent months

U.S. Senate frontrunner Kamala Harris is changing campaign managers and making moves to reduce costs, her campaign said Tuesday, after unusually heavy spending in recent months.

Read the rest of this entry »

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid pictured here. | AP Photo

By Burgess Everett and Kevin Robillard
11/08/15 – 01:36 PM EST

• The party is angling to expand the electoral map by fielding strong recruits in red states like Missouri and Arkansas.

For months, Missouri barely registered in the 2016 battle for Senate control: It’s a conservative state with a solid Republican incumbent in Sen. Roy Blunt. But an unexpectedly strong Democratic recruit, Jason Kander, has put the state in play — prompting a Karl Rove-backed group to spend $800,000 to keep the seat in GOP hands.

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Attorney General Kamala Harris is raising a lot of money for her Senate campaign, but she’s spending it at an unusually high rate. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)

Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
October 29, 2015

• The front-runner for seat is grappling with high overhead costs
• Harris raised $1.8 million over the past quarter, but spent $1.4 million
• Campaign says early investments are paying off

Democrat Kamala Harris is developing a spending problem that has nagged front-runners before her.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez is trailing Democratic rival Kamala Harris in her bid for the U.S. Senate, polls show. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

Phil Willon
October 29, 2015

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, the Democrat famous for bumping ultra-conservative GOP Rep. Robert “B-1 Bob” Dornan from office in Orange County two decades ago, may need a little Republican love next year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mitch McConnell can’t afford to lose any more votes. | Getty

By Seung Min Kim
10/25/15 – 05:29 PM EDT

• McConnell is having a hard time getting a simple-majority bill through the Senate.

Senate Republicans’ carefully-laid plans to use a powerful fast-track tool to send an Obamacare repeal to President Barack Obama is running into fresh resistance, with new opposition from high-profile conservatives and bubbling concerns from moderates.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) speaks during a news conference at the California Democratic Party’s 2015 convention in Anaheim in May. She reported raising almost $1 million for her 2016 Senate bid. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

Phil Willon
October 15, 2015

Rep. Loretta Sanchez reported raising almost $1 million in contributions this year for her U.S. Senate campaign, well behind the $6 million that her chief Democratic rival, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, has collected for the race, according to financial filings released Thursday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
October 8, 2015

• Poll shows general election voters could choose between two Democrats
• It’s early: 34 percent of likely voters remain undecided

Two Democrats – state Attorney General Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez – hold the top two spots in the contest to replace U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, according to a new Field Poll.

Read the rest of this entry »

President Barack Obama gestures as he answers question during a news conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press
Oct. 2, 2015 | 6:11 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Friday he won’t sign another temporary government funding bill after the current one expires Dec. 11, insisting that congressional Republicans and Democrats work out a long-term budget deal with the White House.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, October 1, 2015

WASHINGTON — The federal government will hit a legal debt limit and be unable to borrow more money around Nov. 5, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Thursday.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Joel Gehrke
September 25, 2015

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) will be the next target of conservatives frustrated with party leadership, according to one of the conservative representatives who pressured House speaker John Boehner in the weeks leading up to his resignation.

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As of Friday, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, center, has sponsored two bills in the House of Representatives during the 114th Congress. Staff File Photo

By Beau Yarbrough, The Sun
Posted: 09/06/15 – 8:30 PM PDT |

When the House of Representatives and the Senate return to work in Washington on Tuesday, all of the legislators representing the Inland Empire have something in common: None of them have had any bills signed into law this year.

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to an overflow crowd following a rally and picnic, Saturday, July 25, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Politics
By David Lightman
dlightman@mcclatchydc.com
July 31, 2015

• No final action on budget, highways, debt ceiling
• House plans no votes until Sept. 8
• Trump, Sanders draw big crowds with fix-Washington message

WASHINGTON — In this summer of political gloom, the drumbeat from the American heartland to Washington has been relentless: Fix the economy. Fix the immigration system. Talk to each other.

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By Debra J. Saunders
Published: Wednesday, July 8, 2015 – 5:00 pm

Democrats now will say anything to distance themselves from sanctuary city policies, even though they have supported these policies for years. In an exclusive CNN interview Tuesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton was asked about San Francisco’s refusal to hand over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement seven-time convicted felon and five-time deportee Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez. He stands accused in the fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle as she took an evening stroll on Pier 14 last week. (After telling a local TV station he shot Steinle by accident, Lopez-Sanchez has pleaded not guilty to murder.) Clinton answered, “The city made a mistake not to deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported. So I have absolutely no support for a city that ignores the strong evidence that should be acted on.”

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Sunday, June 28, 2015 – 10:30 a.m.

Set aside all the hubbub.

The Supreme Court of the United States did the Republican Party a huge favor this week.

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The dispute over defense vs. domestic funds means spending bills will pile up until September. What happens then?

By Fawn Johnson
June 7, 2015

The message from Senate Democrats this week will go like this: Serious talks should begin now on avoiding a government shutdown. Why force us to carry out our threat of blocking all spending bills until we hit September, the last few days of the fiscal year, to come up with a panicked back-against-the-wall solution? We all know that’s where we’re heading.

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Political news, analysis, commentary and more about California and beyond
By Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine
Friday, May 22, 2015

Bottom line on the new Merv and Mark Poll: Kamala Harris looks strong, but far from inevitable, in the race for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer.

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U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez greets paradegoers during a Veterans Day celebration in Fullerton in 2008. Some say Sanchez’s lack of restraint could work to her advantage. (File: Michael Goulding / Staff Photographer)

By Martin Wisckol / Staff Writer
May 18, 2015
Updated: May 19, 2015 – 12:12 a.m.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s colorful, freewheeling persona shows no signs of being watered down for her U.S. Senate race, as she demonstrated at last weekend’s state Democratic convention in Anaheim.

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By Michael Finnegan and Peter Jamison
May 16, 2015

The contours of California’s U.S. Senate race sharpened Saturday, with Kamala Harris trying to keep stride as the leading contender while upstart Loretta Sanchez sought to knock her off balance.

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Democrat Xavier Becerra, a congressman from Los Angeles, speaking with reporters Friday evening at the California Democratic Party convention in Orange County. | Christopher Cadelago ccadelago@sacbee.com

Capitol Alert
May 15, 2015
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com

Veteran congressman questions where she stands

“What would she do? What are her values on these issues?”

Anaheim — Rep. Xavier Becerra, mulling a run for the U.S. Senate, urged the media to more aggressively question Attorney General Kamala Harris, the Democratic frontrunner in the race.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, hugs her half-brother, Stephen Sanchez, after announcing she will run for U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer’s seat. She was surrounded by family and supporters at the Santa Ana train station on Thursday. | Christopher Cadelago The Sacramento Bee

By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
May 14, 2015

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat from Orange County, rocked the political world nearly two decades ago when she narrowly ousted a sharp-tongued Republican congressman and then defended the seat in a rematch.

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U.S. Senate candidate and state Attorney General Kamala Harris (Damian Dovarganes/AP)

News
May 13, 2015
Updated 7:30 p.m.
By Martin Wisckol, Staff Writer

On the eve of Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s expected announcement that she’ll run for U.S. Senate, current frontrunner Kamala Harris on Wednesday rolled out a list of eight Orange County elected officials who’ve endorsed her bid.

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Dan Walters
Observations on California and its politics
dwalters@sacbee.com
04/22/2015 – 7:43 AM

It’s always perilous for politicians to tell the truth, as President Barack Obama discovered when he commented on Kamala Harris’ good looks in 2013.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, speaks at the Democratic Foundation of Orange County’s luncheon at the Hilton in Irvine on Monday. (KYUSUNG GONG, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

April 20, 2015 – Updated 9:19 p.m.
By MARTIN WISCKOL / STAFF WRITER

Sounding like she’s on the verge of declaring her candidacy for U.S. Senate, Rep. Loretta Sanchez encouraged donors in Orange County to pony up Monday and explained why she would be a better choice than Attorney General Kamala Harris.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana

April 19, 2015 – Updated 10:06 p.m.
By Martin Wicskol, Staff Columnist

Before heading back to Congress after a two-week Easter recess, Rep. Loretta Sanchez stoked the buzz that she’ll be challenging Attorney General Kamala Harris next year in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.

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By Jim Puzzanghera
April 17, 2015

Despite optimistic talk from Democrats and Republicans about overhauling the tax code, General Electric Co. recently showed that corporate executives aren’t holding their breath for a bipartisan deal any time soon.

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