CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“WILL CALIFORNIA PRODUCE A
POSSIBLE PRESIDENT?”
From the time this year’s
California political campaigns began taking shape last fall, they’ve had the
potential to produce the state’s most viable presidential candidate in almost
half a century.
It may
be about time. For California has not provided the nation with a President –
nor even a credible primary election candidate – since Ronald Reagan left
office in 1989.
In that
time, the strongest run by a Californian for America’s top political job came
from ex-Gov. Pete Wilson, who lasted through only a few primaries and caucuses,
His abortive 1996 run was hampered both by a throat problem that dimmed his
voice and his strong 1994 backing of the anti-illegal immigrant Proposition
187, which destroyed any chance he might have had for getting some Latino
support. Gov. Jerry Brown also staged a long run, in 1992, but never had a
serious chance against Bill Clinton.
Since
then, this state’s top officials, the likes of Gray Davis and Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Brown and Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have been no
threat to national politicians in either major party. Yes, Schwarzenegger might
have been a credible candidate and would have loved to run, but his Austrian
birth rendered him ineligible.
So
California has not only lacked influence at the top levels of American politics
for decades because of its usually-belated primary elections, but also has had
no skin in the game.
Just
now, there’s a little talk about the state’s current junior senator, Democrat
Kamala Harris. Her shrill anti-Donald Trump tone in several nationally
televised Senate hearings has won some support among ultra-liberals nationally,
but no poll has shown she has either strong or widespread appeal. Plus, the one
time she faced a significantly financed election opponent, in her 2010 election
as state attorney general, she barely eked out a victory even in this solidly
Democratic state.
So it’s
a safe bet Harris won’t be California’s next major presidential player. But
there are some possibilities among this year’s crop of candidates, not to
mention Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who makes noises about a
possible 2020 national run even though he’s not running for anything just now.
The
most likely future presidential contenders among the current hopefuls for
governor and the Senate are Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa and current state Senate President Kevin de Leon, all
Democrats. It goes almost without saying that Newsom, a former San Francisco
mayor who tried to run for governor in 2010 before settling for his current
job, will seek the presidency at some point if elected governor.
His
election emails for much of the last year have been replete with responses to
national issues, from the Republican tax bill passed in December to
environmental complaints raised by Trump administration actions. So Newsom
could bring a national perspective to Sacramento. And he’s never been shy about
acting on his ambitions and ideas.
If both
of them should win this year – neither
is an early favorite – either Villariagosa or Senate candidate de Leon could
seek to become the first legitimate Latino presidential contender.
Villaraigosa
has not seriously discussed a presidential run, but would have an immediate
large-scale base among the Latinos who are one of the largest constituencies in
the national Democratic Party. De Leon, who helped hire a former U.S. attorney
general to aid the state Legislature in resisting Trump initiatives, plainly
has a national perspective and makes it obvious he would love to lead the
Democratic opposition to Trump.
But de
Leon, from eastern Los Angeles, is hampered in his current campaign both by the
fact that he remains largely unknown to many Californians and by his denial
that he knew of the sexual harassment allegedly conducted regularly by his
Sacramento housemate, state Sen. Tony Mendoza, in their abode. To many, his
denials of knowledge and seeking to lead the drive for more effective
prevention of such conduct in the Legislature suggest he may have taken a see
no evil, hear no evil approach to Mendoza.
Just
now, none of these folks draws much national attention. But, as Reagan did,
anyone elected either governor or senator here can use California’s sheer size
and its huge representation among national political convention delegates to
fuel a credible run for the White House.
-30-
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net
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