Sacramento, California

A Los Angeles-area state Senate race between labor-backed West Hollywood City Councilmember John Erickson and business-supported media consultant Brian Goldsmith has become California's most expensive state Senate general election contest this cycle, driven by heavy outside spending. The district, covering Malibu, Santa Monica, the Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, carries a 12-year term limit as both seek to succeed termed-out Sen. Ben Allen.

Business groups have targeted Erickson with attack spending, while tech-linked donors and Goldsmith's own personal funds have boosted his campaign; labor groups opposing Goldsmith have spent far less. Nancy Pelosi recently endorsed Goldsmith. Ads focus on affordability, housing, public safety and partisan loyalty, reflecting a broader business-labor struggle over California Democratic Party direction.

A House Judiciary Committee report led by Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Tom McClintock alleges that police and sheriff's departments in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego rejected nearly 9,000 ICE detainer requests in recent years, with Los Angeles honoring roughly 0.1% of those it received. The report also cites ICE figures claiming California authorities released over 4,500 sought immigrants since January 2025, and highlights several high-profile killings involving previously deported individuals to argue sanctuary laws like the Trust Act and California Values Act endanger public safety.

Newsom's office has disputed similar claims previously, saying California has transferred thousands of inmates to ICE custody since 2019. Republicans are pushing the Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act to bar such local restrictions.

A Los Angeles Times op-ed argues California should strip party labels from elections for state controller and treasurer, two technical fiscal watchdog roles currently elected like partisan offices. The author, a former controller candidate, contends party affiliation dominates these races—citing research showing partisanship explains over 80% of vote variation in partisan contests versus just 10% in nonpartisan ones—letting incumbents like Controller Malia Cohen and Treasurer Eleni Kounalakis avoid scrutiny of their records. About half of states already treat controller races as nonpartisan, and roughly a third do so for treasurer.

The piece calls for a citizen-led ballot initiative, since the Democratic-controlled Legislature is unlikely to act on its own.

California Republicans in Congress are targeting two state air-quality mandates they blame for rising consumer costs: the Vessels At-Berth rule and the Commercial Harbor Craft rule, both issued by the California Air Resources Board. Critics argue the regulations impose steep compliance costs and fines on shipping and fishing operators, expenses that get passed on through supply chains to gas, grocery, and other consumer prices. The state agency's own estimates put combined costs in the billions of dollars. The House has passed joint resolutions to overturn both mandates, framing them as hidden climate taxes, and now awaits Senate action. The debate ties into broader scrutiny of California's cost of living under Gov. Gavin Newsom.

California Sen. Alex Padilla made an unannounced visit to an ICE holding center in Sacramento, his at least fourth such inspection, amid a surge in immigration enforcement across the state. He found four people held in a facility with a 12-person capacity, describing the building as not designed for detention. The visit followed a Tuesday collision in Woodland between an ICE vehicle and an observer, which federal officials and local police dispute. Padilla, previously removed from a 2025 news conference with Kristi Noem, says he is tracking ICE activity ahead of elections, raising concerns about access to counsel and potential voter intimidation.

The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to rule quickly on its bid to stop California from counting ballots cast by people on a federal list of more than 20,000 potential noncitizens. The request came after Secretary of State Shirley Weber and L.A. County registrar Dean Logan did not review the list on the DOJ's timeline; California's Attorney General Rob Bonta has moved to dismiss the suit, calling it legally weak. Federal officials separately charged 28 legal permanent residents with voter fraud-related offenses this week. In a related case, a federal judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security from using its own noncitizen-voter list, finding it unreliable. State audits show noncitizen voting is rare.