Trial lawyers gave more than $1.8 million to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaigns

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CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS ARE TOP RECIPIENTS OF TRIAL LAWYER CAMPAIGN CASH

A new report from the American Tort Reform Association shows California Democrats, especially Gov. Gavin Newsom, have been huge beneficiaries of trial lawyer campaign contributions over the last six years.

The report, released exclusively to The Bee, shows that Newsom received more than $1 million in contributions from 20 different law firms over that time span, and that they spent more than $800,000 to defeat the 2022 gubernatorial recall effort against him.

“Campaign contribution limits for governor are $36,400 per election, meaning a number of trial lawyers gave maximum contributions to his campaign,” according to the report.

Newsom was by far the biggest recipient of trial lawyer campaign donations — but he wasn’t the only one to get money.

Attorney General Rob Bonta received more than $340,000 in the period spanning fro 2017 to 2023; his predecessor, Xavier Becerra, raised more than $256,000.

Other beneficiaries of the campaign money included former Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones ($227,056), Assemblywoman Eloise Gómez Reyes ($140,300), state Sen. Thomas Umberg ($112,350), Assemblyman Mark Stone ($110,400), Assemblyman Damon Connolly ($110,200) and state Senate candidate Kipp Mueller ($105,176).

The California Democratic Party received more than $425,000 in contributions.

You can read the report here.

LAST CHANCE TO VOTE FOR MCCARTHY’S SUCCESSOR

Via Gillian Brassil...

Today is the last day to vote in the special primary election to replace retired Rep. Kevin McCarthy in California’s 20th Congressional District.

Several of the same candidates are on the March 19 ballot as were on the March 5 one, including both Republicans who are expected to compete for a full two-year term in November.

Whoever wins the special election will be sworn in swiftly to finish McCarthy’s term, which ends January 2025. If a candidate secures the majority of votes in the special primary, they win outright. If not, the top two vote-getters advance to a May 21 runoff.

The March 19 primary comes two weeks after the regularly-scheduled one. The March 5 primary sends the top two winners to a Nov. 5 general election that decides who takes the seat for a two-year term that starts January 2025.

While the results of the March 5 primary aren’t yet official, the Associated Press projected last week that Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, a Republican, would advance to November.

Fong, who had served as McCarthy’s district director for nearly a decade and earned his endorsement, had 42.1% of the votes with an estimated 98% counted. Boudreaux, president of the California State Sheriff’s Association who has been Tulare County Sheriff for a decade, had 24%. The next closest contender, Democratic school teacher Marisa Wood, had 21.3%.

Fong, Boudreaux and Wood are among the candidates on the March 19 ballot.

California’s 20th — the state’s most Republican district — grabs parts of Kern, Kings, Tulare and Fresno counties.

Fong, who garnered former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, is the presumed frontrunner for both elections. But his bid for the two-year term faces a legal challenge by California’s secretary of state due to circumstances that led him to file both for re-election to the Assembly and Congress.

Counties have a month after these elections to report results to the secretary of state, California’s chief elections official.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber will certify election results for the March 5 primary on April 12. Should the special election contest go to a May runoff, Weber will certify the results of that election June 28.

McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, retired at the end of December following his October ousting as Speaker of the House.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Now we’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across (the) line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those guys — if I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”

- Former President Donald Trump at an Ohio campaign rally over the weekend, via the Washington Post.

Best of The Bee:

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom has postponed his annual State of the State address from Monday to an unknown date as the fate of his hallmark mental health proposition hangs in the balance, via Maya Miller.

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a group opposing the Proposition 1 ballot measure are both urging voters whose ballots may have been rejected to fix their signatures in the too-close-to-call race, via Lindsey Holden.

• Bills that would exempt Californians from paying taxes on settlement money related to wildfires have received early support from state lawmakers, via Stephen Hobbs.

• California Senate Democrats last week unveiled their plan to take early action to address the state’s towering budget deficit. The caucus is calling the “Shrink the Shortfall” plan the first step of an ongoing process to address a budget which is between $38 billion and $73 billion in the hole, via Andrew Sheeler.

• A Republican Super PAC spent more than $650,000 on Assemblyman Vince Fong’s congressional bid to succeed his former boss, retired Rep. Kevin McCarthy, in a deep-red California district, via Gillian Brassil and David Lightman.