Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis (D) is projected to win California's newly drawn 38th Congressional District, defeating Republican Pedro Casas with roughly two-thirds of the vote as ballots were still being counted, according to Decision Desk HQ. The seat was created after voters approved Proposition 50's redistricting measure last year, and it replaces the district previously held by Rep. Linda Sanchez, who is now running in the 41st District.

The district spans Los Angeles and Orange counties and leans solidly Democratic. Solis, a former U.S. Labor secretary and longtime House member, campaigned on reproductive rights, labor, and immigrant protections, with backing from Nancy Pelosi and other state Democratic leaders.

Voters in seven states, including Florida, Wyoming and Oklahoma, will decide Election Day ballot measures to cap, shrink or phase out property taxes, marking the largest such revolt since the 1970s. Florida's measure would raise homestead exemptions and open a path to eliminating nonschool property taxes; Wyoming's would cut assessed home values by half.

Critics point to California's 1978 Proposition 13 as a cautionary precedent: it slashed local property tax revenue, led to higher impact fees and other taxes, and is linked to worsening housing shortages and rising home-price-to-income ratios. Economists across the political spectrum, including Milton Friedman and Joseph Stiglitz, have defended property taxes as efficient and hard to avoid, complicating the push for sweeping cuts.

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's Proposition 40 would create the first U.S. tax on billionaires' net worth, but two rival measures, Propositions 41 and 42, contain "poison pill" language that could nullify it even if it wins a majority. Polling shows all three measures drawing majority support, pointing to voter confusion over the ballot language. A billionaire-backed coalition, including Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt, has bankrolled the opposition, with spending topping $350 million against roughly $34 million raised by supporters, including labor unions like SEIU-UHW. Democrats are split: Bernie Sanders backs Prop. 40 while Gavin Newsom opposes it, favoring a national wealth tax instead. If competing measures both pass, the outcome would likely be settled in court.

California's Senate Bill 1406, which took effect at the end of September 2026, aims to close the so-called Montana loophole, in which residents register high-end vehicles—exotic cars, RVs, and other pricey assets—to out-of-state shell LLCs to dodge California's sales tax and registration fees. Under the new law, if any owner or manager of such an LLC is a California resident, assets located in the state become subject to California taxes, and LLC partners can be held liable for unpaid amounts, with nonpayment potentially treated as a crime. Enforcement details remain unclear since vehicles stay registered elsewhere. Some owners used these LLCs to dodge emissions rules too, an issue only partly addressed by other upcoming legislation.

A new book by journalist Miriam Pawel, "California Dreams: The Making and Remaking of the University of California," chronicles the history of the UC system from its 1868 founding through its growth into a $60 billion enterprise spanning 10 campuses, six health systems and three national laboratories. The book frames California's relationship with UC as an intimate, often contentious family dynamic, tracing recurring battles over the university's identity across generations.

Pawel revisits major flashpoints including 1950s ideological purges during the Red Scare, the 1960s Free Speech Movement clashes, and the 1990s fight over Proposition 209, which banned affirmative action and reduced diversity across UC campuses. The review argues UC's core tension lies in being both selective — Berkeley admits fewer than 7,000 of over 130,000 applicants annually — and a vehicle for social mobility. The piece notes current disputes over DEI, free speech and federal funding pressure from the Trump administration echo these long-standing conflicts, suggesting institutional resilience remains UC's defining trait.

President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, said higher gas prices from the Iran conflict were "a small price to pay for keeping the world safe," adding that Iran could "take out" Los Angeles or San Diego and calling it "a very small price to pay" that would be "over with very soon." The crowd cheered. The remark came roughly a month before the midterm elections.

California officials responded swiftly. Governor Gavin Newsom called the comment "dangerous -- if not treasonous," directed the State Threat Assessment Center to monitor for threats against California, and later escalated by calling Trump "mentally ill" and demanding invocation of the 25th Amendment. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told Trump to "keep LA out of your damn mouth," and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra accused him of treating Californians' lives as "a punchline." San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and other mayors, along with Rep. Derek Tran, condemned the remarks. The White House and allies countered that Trump's full remarks were being taken out of context, arguing he meant Iran could strike those cities only if it obtained nuclear weapons, not that the U.S. should allow such an attack.

Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton met on CNN for a debate ahead of California's Nov. 3 gubernatorial election, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. The exchange was widely panned as lackluster, with both candidates drawing criticism for weak performances. Becerra, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, repeated claims that he has "fought all my life to defend immigrants," a record critics dispute given his quiet stance during the Obama administration's deportation policies. He also accused Hilton of wanting to "welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me," a remark Hilton called "disgraceful."

Hilton, a former Fox News host who received Donald Trump's primary endorsement, avoided directly answering whether he'd direct state law enforcement to assist federal immigration enforcement. Polling from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows Becerra with a substantial lead and more favorable overall ratings than Hilton heading into the final weeks of the race.