Free Republic

California Democrats know how to manipulate the field of candidates to produce the governor’s race they want. That’s what I learned in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom. It is not a loss that gives me sleepless nights. It is, however, annoying that people, including veteran political analysts and pundits, get wrong exactly what happened. Why? Because the truth is instructive as to how Democrats maneuver, and what could be happening in the gubernatorial race in 2026.

The one thing Newsom is good at is destroying the Golden State If I was the leftist governor of the largest state in the U.S. and my unspoken goal and unholy plan was to destabilize and destroy my state, there are certain policies I would impose, and executive orders I’d make, while insulating myself from my own policies: Cut water off to rural areas in the state; remove dams and hydroelectric plants. Limit water deliveries to farmers and ranchers, forcing farmers and ranchers to shut down. Create a housing shortage. Raise the minimum wage so high, restaurant owners are forced...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that his time as an elected official will permanently end when he finishes his term as governor. “I will never run for an elected office again. Never again,” Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, said in an interview with MS NOW. Walz had said this month that he would not seek re-election as governor — sending shock waves through state and national politics — but he did not go so far as to say he would not consider another elected position down the line. In explaining his decision Wednesday, Walz talked about the...

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar filed paperwork for her campaign for Minnesota governor Thursday, weeks after Gov. Tim Walz ended his campaign for a third-term amid a widening scandal of fraud in state-run social service programs. “This is a preliminary step necessary for any candidate considering a run,” according to a person close to the senator who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “The senator will make an announcement of her plans in the coming days.” Klobuchar, 65, is a proven vote-getter, having been reelected three times since first winning her seat in 2006....

Lefty California Rep. Eric Swalwell is forcefully pushing back against a lawsuit claiming he can’t run for governor because he doesn’t actually live in the Golden State, calling the accusation “nonsense” and politically motivated. In an exclusive statement to The Post, his campaign’s general consultant said Swalwell has always maintained a California residence. Security concerns tied to repeated death threats against Swalwell explain why a campaign office address was listed on legal filings, according to campaign consultant Kate Maeder. She called the practice legal and common in California politics. Right-wing filmmaker Joel Gilbert, who filed the suit, claims Swalwell actually...

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik announced Friday she was ending her short-lived bid for governor of New York and would not run for another term in Congress. “While spending precious time with my family this Christmas season, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Governor and will not seek re-election to Congress,” Stefanik wrote in a post on social media. “I did not come to this decision lightly for our family.” The announcement came less than two months after Stefanik launched a campaign seeking to challenge Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2026, making what would have been a...

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, a top ally of President Donald Trump's on Capitol Hill, announced she is running for governor to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul next year. Stefanik made the announcement in a video her campaign posted on YouTube early Friday morning. She released a statement saying: "Kathy Hochul is the Worst Governor in America. Under Kathy Hochul's failed leadership, New York is the most unaffordable state in the nation with the highest taxes, highest energy, utilities, rent, and grocery prices crushing hardworking families. Hochul has created a crime crisis with failed bail reform...

A former Navy pilot, first elected to Congress in 2018, will be New Jersey's next governor. Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated former Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, according to a race call by The Associated Press, capping a closely-watched gubernatorial election that some polls predicted would be a coin flip. Sherrill's victory marks the first time since the 1960s that New Jersey voters have elected a governor from the same party three terms in a row. Her victory is also the second major win for Democrats on Tuesday, following Abigail Spanberger's win for Virginia governor. The race was also one of...

BREAKING: New data from @Kalshi on the 2025 New Jersey Governor's Race Of traders who ACTUALLY LIVE in New Jersey, 86% believe Jack Ciattarelli will win the race

Matthew Hoffman, the ex-husband of former Congresswoman and gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, reportedly suffered the indignity (and injury) of having Porter pour boiling potatoes over his head. Now that Porter's volatile temper and bad behavior to her staffers has been exposed for all to see, Hoffman has decided to break his silence on their relationship and confirm what most of us already know: she's a terrible politician, and would make an even worse governor. Hoffman spills the tea. Fortunately, since he lives in OR now, he has a state between them to insulate him from any blowback. Katie Porter is...

Hard as it is to believe, could change really be in the works for California?It may be, according to this Emerson poll, as reported by Newsweek:Republican candidate Steve Hilton is very narrowly ahead in the latest poll from Emerson College on California's gubernatorial race, pulling into the lead over former U.S. Representative Katie Porter, the Democratic front-runner.According to the details:The latest Emerson poll, conducted on October 20 and October 21, shows Hilton with a slim lead in the crowded field to replace outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom in California next year. The Republican has the support of 16 percent of California's...

Some Democrats are worried in the final weeks of the election.The interviewer asked each candidate a simple question: Would you fight for the right of New Jerseyans to pump their own gas?Republican Jack Ciattarelli answered in one word: “no.” His opponent, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, took 53, invoking President Donald Trump’s tariffs without ever giving a clear yes or no.The exchange — which she later gave a more direct answer on — spoke to a growing worry among Democrats: That Sherrill, their only hope at holding the New Jersey governorship, is playing it too safe. Her front-runner caution — careful...

The cheating scandal surrounding U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and her time at the U.S. Naval Academy has widened after her husband, Jason, also appears to have been implicated, according to documents reviewed by the New York Post. Last week, a bombshell report from the New Jersey Globe revealed that Sherrill was barred from walking with her class at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 due to her implication in a sweeping cheating scandal that implicated more than 130 midshipmen. A copy of the commencement program from May 25, 1994, which was obtained by the outlet, did not include Sherrill’s...

Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was seen posing with a man who worked as a 'Peacekeeper' in the state, less than a week before he was arrested for allegedly killing a father while fleeing a robbery at a Louis Vuitton store. Keller McMillan, 35, was one of seven men charged with murder, burglary, and retail theft after they robbed a luxury retail store and allegedly killed a father who was driving to work. It has now been revealed that McMillan was working as a 'Peacekeeper,' a trained community member who is sent to violent hotspots to de-escalate conflicts.

Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday launched his campaign to run for governor. “I’m a conservative Republican, and I’m prepared to make the tough decisions. I follow the law and the Constitution, and I’ll always do the right thing for Georgia no matter what,” Raffensperger said in his campaign launch video. Raffensperger promises a “bold conservative agenda,” including eliminating the state income tax, capping property taxes for seniors, banning puberty-blocking drugs, and purging “woke curriculums” from schools. He also pledges to work with Trump to increase jobs, deport illegal immigrants with criminal records, and “restore law and...

Virginia Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears is continuing to ask President Donald Trump to back her bid in the high-stakes Virginia governor’s race — but the president, as of now, is refusing to endorse her. Earle-Sears has met with Trump in the Oval Office at least once to discuss her challenging campaign, and her team has coordinated daily with the White House’s political operation for months, according to sources familiar with the conversations who spoke with Bloomberg Government. The former House member [Abigail Spanberger] has specifically focused her message on blaming Trump — and Earle-Sears by association — for defunding education...

The Brief Former GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan now running for governor as Democrat Duncan positions himself as Trump critic in crowded primary field Faces questions on abortion stance, voting law support as Republican ATLANTA - Former Republican and onetime Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan has announced he is running for governor as a Democrat, according to The Associated Press. Duncan, 50, released his announcement Tuesday, positioning himself as a staunch Trump critic and a candidate focused on health care access and cost-of-living issues. He enters a crowded Democratic field that already includes former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, state...

Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor of Virginia this fall, has chosen as her running mate, a state senator named Ghazala Hashmi, a Muslim with a history of bashing Virginia voters as racists. If you live in Virginia, prepare to hear a lot more about race if these two Democrats win. It will seem like old times. It’s also worth noting that Hashmi helped kill legislation that would allow parents to know if their child identified as transgender while at school.

It's time, Mr. President. In fact, it's the perfect time; there's likely not going to be a better one. Yes, you have your reasons for hesitating to endorse Winsome Earle-Sears for governor in Virginia; it's understandable that you might not want to put your personal seal of approval on a candidate who didn't have your back in 2022 when you announced you were running for a second term. Politics is an ugly game, and there are few who've experienced that more keenly than you. But, that was then, and this is now. This past week—and Thursday night in Arlington, in...

The Virginia Police Benevolent Association, which four years ago supported all Republicans, is backing Abigail Spanberger (D) over Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R). RICHMOND — The Virginia Police Benevolent Association is backing Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor — a switch from four years ago, when the group favored Republicans up and down the statewide ticket. The PBA announced Wednesday that it is splitting its endorsements in statewide races this year, picking the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general, John Reid and Jason S. Miyares. The group praised Spanberger for voting to increase local law enforcement funding...