Political Breakdown

The California Democratic Party Convention kicks off today at San Francisco's Moscone Center, where the many candidates running in races from governor and U.S. Congress to the California Assembly are hoping to win the party's coveted endorsement. Tensions within the party are surfacing over whether to label Israel’s attacks on Gaza as genocide and over a proposed one-time tax on the state’s billionaires. Scott and Guy are at the convention center to examine what this weekend might signal about Democrats’ strategy heading into the November midterms. Check out ⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Los Angeles Assemblyman Ian Calderon made history in 2012, becoming the first millennial elected to the California State Assembly at age 27. He stepped away from politics in 2020 to focus on his growing family, and now at age 40 he is running for governor. He joins Marisa to frame his pitch to voters, casting himself as part of a new generation of leadership and calling for increased funding for education, expanded access to child care and greater government accountability. He also expressed support for cryptocurrency, suggesting the state invest in it as a way to help manage budget shortfalls. This interview is part of a series of conversations with the 2026 gubernatorial candidates for California. The primary election is June 2. Check out ⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Gov. Gavin Newsom launched CARE Court two years ago, it was envisioned as a new solution to get homeless people with severe mental illness off the streets and into treatment. Newsom’s administration predicted the program could serve 7,000 to 12,000 Californians, but it has failed to meet those projections. Scott and Marisa speak with The San Francisco Chronicle’s politics reporter Sophia Bollag, who recently wrote about a mother’s urgent effort to secure a CARE Court treatment plan for her son. Check out ⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After four days on the picket line, the San Francisco teachers union reached an agreement with the city’s school district. The union received much of their demands, including fully employer-paid family health care benefits and wage increases. Scott, Guy and KQED digital reporter Katie DeBenedetti discuss what led to the strike and agreement, what role Mayor Daniel Lurie played and how the district will afford these demands while projecting a $100 million deficit. Check out ⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former State Controller Betty Yee is running for governor on a platform of competent and accountable leadership. She joins Marisa to discuss why she believes she’s the best candidate to fix California’s major fiscal challenges, having managed the state’s finances and tax system as controller and a member of the Board of Equalization. Yee shares her plan to implement spending cuts and grow the economy but said she opposes a proposed tax on California billionaires. She also tells Marisa about her upbringing in San Francisco as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, working at her parents’ laundry and dry cleaning business, where she helped manage the books from an early age. This interview is part of a series of conversations with the 2026 gubernatorial candidates for California. The primary election is June 2. Check out ⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, paid lobbyists have worked to sway politicians into voting their way on legislation. But now young, conservative social media creators are exerting their own influence, largely without regulation or oversight. Scott and Marisa are joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Maggie Severns to discuss how corporate and foreign interests are paying pro-Trump social media influencers to promote their political causes. Check out ⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As tens of thousands of visitors arrive in the Bay Area for the Super Bowl, some of the excitement is being tempered by concerns over immigration enforcement, despite federal officials and the National Football League insisting there are no planned operations. Marisa and Guy are joined by The New York Times reporter Sheera Frenkel to examine the role the Department of Homeland Security will play during the event and how local leaders and businesses are preparing. Then, they turn to the California governor's race, breaking down the latest developments including the first televised debate and newly released campaign finance reports. Check out ⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host who previously served as a political advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron, sat down with Marisa and Scott to discuss his vision for California if elected governor. Hilton argues the state has been broken by one-party Democratic rule and is attempting to become the first Republican to win statewide office in 20 years. The conversation covers his upbringing in the U.K. as the son of Hungarian immigrants, his business and political background and how he would approach key gubernatorial challenges, from balancing the budget, reforming the education system, addressing housing and homelessness and improving the state's current adversarial relationship with the Trump administration. This interview is part of a series of conversations with the 2026 gubernatorial candidates for California. The primary election is June 2. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a rare moment of political alignment, President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom are both calling for restrictions on large institutional investors buying single-family homes, arguing they drive up housing prices and put individual homebuyers at a severe disadvantage. As the shortage of affordable housing pushes the American Dream further out of reach, Scott and Marisa are joined by The New York Times Magazine contributing writer Francesca Mari to take a closer look at the role Wall Street investors play in rising housing costs and how much power state and federal governments actually have to reign them in. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With more than half a dozen Democrats already running for governor, San José Mayor Matt Mahan added his name to the field this week. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss whether the centrist Silicon Valley Democrat and outspoken critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom's social media tactics can break through an already competitive race. They also dig into an effort in Sacramento to make it easier for residents to sue U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who use excessive force. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A city in California's Mojave Desert is at the center of a growing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement controversy. A privately-owned former prison has been revived by ICE and is poised to become the largest immigration detention facility on the West Coast. Since opening in August, the facility has sparked ongoing protests and drawn serious allegations of neglect and inadequate medical care, along with questions about whether it's operating legally. Marisa and Scott are joined by KQED's senior immigration editor Tyche Hendricks to break down the allegations and legal concerns surrounding the facility. Then, they talk to California City Marquette Hawkins about his stance on the detention facility and what it's like leading a city at the center of a national debate. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration is facing intense political and legal backlash after a second American citizen was fatally shot by federal immigration agents during an operation in Minneapolis over the weekend. The White House has dispatched border czar Tom Homan to oversee Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minnesota, supplanting Border Control Commander Gregory Bovino and signaling a possible shift in the administration's deportation strategy. Marisa and Scott are joined by Politico's national security reporter Eric Bazail-Eimil to assess whether the president’s deportation policies have reached an inflection point. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom grabbed headlines at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this week, after accusing the Trump administration of blocking his speaking engagement at an official U.S. venue. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss the California governor’s ongoing feud with the president. Then, they're joined by KQED's Sydney Johnson to reflect on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's live onstage interview at KQED one year into his term. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie just marked his first year in office, and he's enjoying high approval ratings and declining crime rates. He joined Marisa and Scott onstage live at KQED to reflect on his first year, what he’s learned, and how he plans to take on the challenges ahead. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since President Trump took office last year, California has averaged roughly one lawsuit per week against the administration. Attorney General Rob Bonta has led the fight, from defending healthcare, pushing back on immigration initiatives and unfreezing billions in state funding. He recently announced he will not run for governor, instead prioritizing California's legal offensive by running for reelection. He joins Scott and Marisa in studio to discuss the past year and what might lie ahead. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The governor's race came into sharper focus this week after Attorney General Rob Bonta announced he would not jump into the race. Meanwhile, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan indicated he is seriously considering entering the race that polls show remains wide open. Scott, Marisa and Guy talk about how the governor's contest is shaping up. Then, they discuss California's ongoing legal battles with the Trump administration over women's health care and immigration enforcement. Gov. Gavin Newsom this week refused to extradite a Sonoma County doctor charged by Louisiana officials with providing abortion medication to a resident of that state. Plus, a federal judge in Los Angeles considers the Trump administration's challenge to California's new law prohibiting most police officers, including ICE agents, from wearing masks on duty. Check out ⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A political fight is already brewing over a proposed tax on California billionaires. Democrats are divided, with Gov. Newsom as one of the most vocal opponents trying to broker an alternative that would keep the initiative off the November ballot. Some Silicon Valley tech moguls are also threatening to leave the state to avoid the tax. The ballot measure is being pushed by SEIU-UHW, which represents about 120,000 healthcare workers in California. Marisa and Scott talk to the labor union's chief of staff Suzanne Jimenez and then dig into the politics with Politico's senior political reporter Melanie Mason. Check out ⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week's fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent renewed scrutiny nationwide and prompted calls for accountability. In San Francisco, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has said she wouldn't hesitate to bring charges against federal agents who use excessive force. She joins Scott and Marisa in studio to discuss how she's approaching the legal challenges presented by President Trump's immigration crackdown. Check out ⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his final State of the State address, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed to restructure the California Department of Education by shifting power away from the state superintendent and into the hands of the next governor. Marisa and Guy are joined by Politico's Dustin Gardiner to discuss how the announcement blindsided the current State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Then, they talk about the legacy of U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who died during emergency surgery this week. LaMalfa was a Republican who represented Northern California in Congress for more than a decade and his death leaves Republicans with an even tighter majority in the House of Representatives. Plus, tensions rise between Democratic state officials and the Trump administration following the deadly shooting of a woman by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis. Days later, U.S. border patrol agents shot two people in Portland. Check out ⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered his final State of the State address today, defending his record in office and contrasting California's successes to what he called President Trump's "carnival of chaos." Marisa and Guy hear how the address and budget priorities landed with two lawmakers, Santa Cruz Democratic Sen. John Laird and Fresno Republican Asm. David Tangipa. Check out ⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices