Election 2008: April 2008 Archives

John McCain is boldly promising to mount the most serious Republican presidential campaign for California in years as part of a strategy that targets the entire Democratic-leaning West Coast. Arizona Republic.

California, the state with 55 prized electoral votes, once upon a time was the home base of President Reagan, one of McCain's GOP heroes. But Republicans haven't carried the state in a presidential race or won a Senate seat since 1988.

And, with an increasingly influential Latino population, California is central to any Democratic plan to capture 270 electoral votes and retake the White House.

An Aside:
Californians have heard this before, most notably from President Bush in his first campaign, but it turned out to be little more than a feint to try to get Democrats to spend their money to preserve California.

A growing number of immigrants and their children is pushing Latino voting strength in California to record levels and could alter local legislative and congressional races in coming elections, according to an analysis of potential new voters released today.Tony Castro in the Daily News.

By 2012, immigrants and their voting-age children could potentially represent 29 percent of California voters, according to findings by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees based in Sebastopol, Calif.

But those estimates could be misleading, according to Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute at California State University, Los Angeles, and a leading political expert.

Political activist Linda Sutton, who has been closely following the race for the 40th Assembly District seat being vacated by Lloyd Levine because of term limits, has an article in Calitics looking at the fight over various endorsements.

Her take:

"Most Californians are sure that their election is over. All the media coverage is blaring babble from the most recent presidential debate in distant states as well as other inane minutia that denigrates the process.

"Yet, if you look closely, really closely, you may find evidence that there is yet another election coming up here in June. Yes, June 3rd to be exact.

"This season, in spite of the state being billions of dollars in debt, and the cries of horror about budget cuts, our state legislators gave us the special treat of spending double on TWO elections!!!. "

The top two contenders for a coveted Los County Board of Supervisors seat tore into one another Thursday, each saying he could better represent the sprawling 2nd District from mid-Los Angeles to Carson and each claiming to be the stronger supporter of Sen. Barack Obama. Brandon Lowrey in the Daily News

In one of the opening blows, Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks said he was a true public servant while his opponent, state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles, was merely a politician.

"I've seen public service rather than political process," Parks told a crowd of about 250 people at the Westside Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles.

In Indiana, campaigning for its May 6 election, Obama offered his congratulations to Clinton.
"She ran a terrific race," Obama said."And, I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who stood with me today. There were a lot of folks who thought we wouldn't make a race of it and would be blown out. We closed the gap.
"We registered a record number of voters. And it is those new voters who will lead our party to victory in November."
Obama then returned to his campaign theme of running a campaign to bring change to the country.

In Philadelphia, with Gov. Ed. Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter cheering on supporters, Clinton thanked them for her victory.
"Oh, thank you," Clinton said as her husband Bill and daughter Chelsea joined in the celebration. "It's a ;long road to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.and it runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania. For six weeks, Sen. Obama and I have been criss-crossing the state making our case.... You listened and today you chose.
"You know the challenges are great. But you also know the possiblities...with a president ready to lead on day one."
Clinton's supporters adopted Obama's theme, chanting "Yes, we can" to he

Clinton supportet Terry McAuliffe said the Clinton campaign remains viable and that the party should now look at the popular vote to determine the party's nominee.
Meanwhile, Obama supporter Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri says her candidate did better in Pennsylvania than anyone expected, closing the double digit lead that had been held by Clinton.
Both candidates are preparing for the next elections. Obama was holding a rally in Indiana and Clinton released travel plans that include Indiana and North Carolina. Both states are to have May 6 elections.

The networks are calling Pennsylvania for Clinton, but no real percentages available yet.
And, to no one;s surprise, Sen. John McCain won the GOP election, against Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee.

And, you thought California was slow in counting votes.
With polls closed for a half-hour, not one vote return has been released and television commentators are almost -- almost -- running out of things to say.
On MSNBC, Chris Matthews asked if the close vote -- 0 to 0 -- is concerning the Clinton campaign.
No, he was told. They just want to see some votes.
****
And this is why MSNBC is "the place for politics," a Chris Matthews rant.
Matthews, the host of "Hardball," just spent the better part of three minutes with a series of rhetorical questions to Howard Fineman over the $4 million Clinton owes strategist Mark Penn.
":Where are the guys who believed in candidates?" he asked. "Why do you have to pay for brains?"

A state that hasn't received this much attention since the drafting of the Constitution -- or the the first "Rocky" movies -- took center stage today and it was unclear if Pennsylvania voters would give more life to the campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Trailing in delegates, popular vote and money, Clinton was looking for a big win in Pennsylvania to make the case that she should continue her campaign against Sen. Barack Obama.

Tonight's debate between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, leading up to next Tuesday's election in Pennsylvania, is being broadcast on the West Coast three hours after it occurs.
Meaning, that all the analysis on CNN, Fox and MSNBC will be going on before California viewers get a chance to see it.
Online political junkies can go to the various newspaper web sites to see if they are live blogging the event for updates.

Thousands of Democratic activists, including dozens from the San Fernando Valley, will gather across California today vying to be chosen for the elite cadre of pledged presidential delegates who will head to the Democratic National Convention.Tony Castro in the Daily News.
A total of 21 slots as delegates and four as alternates are up for grabs in the four congressional districts that cover the San Fernando Valley. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters will elect 12 delegates and four alternates in those four districts. Sen. Barack Obama's backers will elect nine delegates.

But Clinton's threat to fight for Obama's pledged presidential delegates all the way to the convention has roiled Obama supporters heading into today's caucuses.

Los Angeles Councilman Bernard Parks picked up the endorsement of the board of directors of the new BizFed organization in his race for the 2nd Supervisorial District against state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles in June.
BizFed Chairman David Fleming cited Parks record in supporting business and offering incentives to companies to remain in Los Angeles.
"We are confident that his background as the chief of police and as a council member make him the ideal candidate to resolve some of the most pressing issues facing the county," Fleming said.
Ridley-Thomas has picked up the support of most labor groups in the county.
The race is to fill the seat being vacated with the retirement of Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.

Los Angeles Councilman Bernard Parks picked up the endorsement of the board of directors of the new BizFed organization in his race for the 2nd Supervisorial District against state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles in June.
BizFed Chairman David Fleming cited Parks record in supporting business and offering incentives to companies to remain in Los Angeles.
"We are confident that his background as the chief of police and as a council member make him the ideal candidate to resolve some of the most pressing issues facing the county," Fleming said.
Ridley-Thomas has picked up the support of most labor groups in the county.
The race is to fill the seat being vacated with the retirement of Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.

With Sen. Hillary Clinton coming to California today for some fundraisers, the state Republican Party could resist the opportunity to continue its campaign against her and Democrats in general.

"As Senator Clinton brings her flagging campaign to California, the people of this state are listening carefully to the tax-laden, heavy-handed, big government ‘solutions' she is offering for America's economic challenges. They know that higher taxes and more government spending aren't going to help them fill up their cars, pay their mortgages, or save for retirement," Nehring said.

Fran Pavley and Lloyd Levine were colleagues at one time, fellow liberal Democrats from the San Fernando Valley who served together in the state Assembly and often voted the same way on big issues.Harrison Sheppard in the Daily News.

But, as often happens between former colleagues in the era of term limits, today the two are running against each other for the same state Senate seat - to represent West Los Angeles, the West Valley and Oxnard and to succeed Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, who will be termed out at the end of this year.

The knives have come out as Levine, still in the Assembly, and Pavley, who was termed out, both have well-funded campaigns, deep ties in the Valley and similar ideologies - and each is slashing at the other's effectiveness.

Campaining hard in Pennsylvania, Sen. Hillary Clinton returns to California this week for a fundraiser to try to remain competitive witih Sen. Barack Obama.
Clinton is scheduled to attend the "Hillary LIve" fundraiser a the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills for an event to tap into her California base of support.
News reports have had Obama outspending her four to one in the April 22 primary election and she is struggling to remain even.