All posts tagged "California Governor"

MAGA California Governor candidate and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco got into a clash on Saturday night when he was asked about his ties to the far-right Oath Keepers militia, with the GOP gubernatorial hopeful appearing visibly angry over the line of questioning.

Bianco joined The Weekend: Primetime to discuss his past and current run for office when the back-and-forth heated up. Bianco's campaign has focused on law and order, and co-host Elise Jordan pressed him to discuss the Oath Keepers, which have been described by experts and watchdog organizations as extremists and an anti-government group with people who often believe in conspiracy theories.

"There were Oath Keepers present at the insurrection on January 6th, at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville years ago," Jordan said. "And just a few days ago, you told CNN that you were very proud of your past affiliation with the Oath Keepers. If you're so proud, why aren't you still involved with them?"...

A GOP candidate for California governor proudly stood by his past ties to the Oath Keepers, a far-right American militia that was involved in the January 6 Capitol riots.

"You're an Oath Keeper. We all know that," former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said while railing against Republican Chad Bianco, the Sheriff for Riverside County.

Rather than distance himself from the group, Bianco leaned in, saying, "I'm very proud of it."...

Two Democratic candidates for California governor traded blows as one tried to ask him questions that the other said sounded like "MAGA talking points."

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was asked to respond to comments made by his fellow Democratic candidate Matt Mahan that "suggested that you're interested in growing the size of government, saying that he wants to cut it," CNN anchor Elex Michaelson.

"Mayor Mahan should take a look at my record, and you'll realize that the largest health enterprise in the world, the Department of Health and Human Services, is big. It's because we have to make sure we're doing everything to improve the health care for 33 million Americans." ...

California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) was facing calls to step out of the competitive race and lost the last of his 21 endorsements from his Democratic congressional colleagues after sexual misconduct and assault allegations surfaced, according to reports on Saturday.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) rescinded her support for Swalwell, who had been leading the Golden State primary election for Democratic candidates, Axios reported.

"It's a stunning reversal of political fortunes in just 24 hours. Swalwell was among the frontrunners in the race, but his campaign is in free fall due to allegations of rape, sexual assault and misconduct, which he denies," according to Axios. ...

Chad Bianco, the pro-Trump sheriff of Riverside County, California, was ordered by the California Supreme Court to stop a voter fraud investigation, according to reports on Wednesday.

A court order issued on Wednesday stated that Bianco's office must immediately "halt its investigation and preserve all seized election materials pending further review in court," The Desert Sun reported.

Bianco is a Republican California gubernatorial candidate and was in a high-profile clash with California state officials after he seized 650,000 ballots from the Proposition 50 referendum, which established a new mid-decade congressional map to draw five Republicans in retaliation for GOP efforts to do the same to Democrats in Texas. Even some Republican leaders in the Golden State have condemned his actions....

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, on Friday debunked reports that said the president was angry with Pam Bondi and suspected the now former attorney general had tipped off a candidate for California governor about a potentially damaging FBI investigation about him and his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.

Swalwell told CNN anchor Pamela Brown that he denied the claims, saying he did not have any direct conversations with either Bondi or now acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. He called out Trump for attempting to interfere in the upcoming California gubernatorial election in May, a crowded race that Swalwell has been leading as the top Democratic contender according to recent polls.

"No, absolutely not," Swalwell said. "In fact, it's laughable. And the president was tweeting about this at 4:45 in the morning yesterday. Again, we're at war. And the FBI is focused on interfering in a California governor's race where I am leading, when they should just be focused on the homeland."...