MICHAEL R. BLOOD Political Writer, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Fight over new US House districts in California could turn on advertising edge in closing days

October 22, 2025

Less than two weeks from Election Day, a potentially decisive edge in California’s fight over new U.S. House districts has emerged: advertising. Industry data show ad spending — the main pipeline to voters in the vast state — dropping off dramatically by Republicans and other critics of so-called Proposition 50. That’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to erase as many as five Republican House seats to counter President Donald Trump’s moves in Texas to gain five Republican districts before the 2026 elections. Data from tracking firm AdImpact show Democrats and other supporters have nearly $9 million in ad buys booked, while opponents have virtually no time reserved.

FILE - Former President Barack Obama speaks at the Obama Foundation Democracy Forum in Chicago, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Barack Obama joins fight for US House control, urges vote for California districts to counter Trump

October 14, 2025

Barack Obama is entering the fight for U.S. House control. The former Democratic president is appearing in a 30-second ad urging California voters to approve a ballot proposal that could add as many as five Democrat-held House seats in California. It’s aimed at offsetting President Donald Trump’s moves in Texas and elsewhere to boost Republican seats in the 2026 election. Obama says in the ad, “California, the whole nation is counting on you.” Voting is underway in California and concludes Nov. 4. The Democratic-backed proposal is intended to blunt Trump’s power in the second half of his term.

FILE - U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., smiles as she prepares to address supporters at an election night party, March 5, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Katie Porter pushes back. After disastrous week ex-US Rep rallies support in California governor run

October 10, 2025

Katie Porter is fighting back. After a disastrous week that saw calls for the former Democratic congresswoman to end her campaign for California governor, supporters are rallying around her and seeking to deflect criticism about her temperament and readiness for the job. On Wednesday, a snippet of a recent TV interview surfaced in which Porter threatened to walk out after a tense back-and-forth with a reporter. Shortly afterward, a video surfaced of a 2021 interview showing her loudly berating a staffer. Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, says Porter “is one of the toughest, most authentic leaders I’ve ever met.”

A sample ballot is pictured before early voting starts in California's statewide special election, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Paula Ulichney-Munoz)

Voting is underway in California on new maps that could swing US House control, check Trump’s power

October 5, 2025

The fight for control of the U.S. House is underway in California. Voters are considering whether to drastically reshape congressional districts to add as many as five Democratic seats in advance of the 2026 midterm elections. The plan championed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is intended to offset Trump’s moves in Texas to gain five Republican districts ahead of the midterms. Ballots are arriving at voters’ homes and voting concludes on Nov. 4. The outcome of the election could determine which party controls the closely divided House and the reach of President Donald Trump’s power in the second half of his term.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom answers questions after signing legislation calling for a special election on a redrawn congressional map on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Why Newsom’s push for new House maps isn’t a sure thing, even in heavily Democratic California

September 19, 2025

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal on the Nov. 4 ballot to reshape California’s U.S. House districts to add five Democratic seats in advance of the 2026 midterm elections is not a sure sale, even in a state where Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1. Democrats accustomed to handily winning elections in California year after year are getting antsy. The Democratic governor told supporters in an email “I wish I could tell you this election was going to be easy, but it won’t.” Campaigns are often quick to alarm supporters in hopes of shaking loose donations. But there are several factors that could lead to a surprisingly close or unexpected result on Newsom’s proposed constitutional amendment, from voter confusion to an aversion to change.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, joins University of Southern California interim president Beong-Soo Kim for a conversation on democracy and Schwarzenegger's opposition to Proposition 50, a California ballot measure to redraw U.S. House maps to boost Democrats, at the USC campus in Los Angeles, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Arnold Schwarzenegger enters fight on US House control, urges vote against new California districts

September 15, 2025

Arnold Schwarzenegger is entering the national battle over U.S. House control. The former Republican California governor and action-movie star is urging the state’s voters to reject a November ballot proposal to rejigger districts that he said would erode democratic principles. Schwarzenegger said Monday that the Democratic-backed Proposition 50 is “insane.” The proposal championed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom would temporarily set aside districts crafted by an independent commission and replace them with y reshaped districts designed to benefit the party’s candidates in the fight for House control. The move is similar to a GOP-led effort in Texas pushed by President Donald Trump.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s national profile soars with latest Trump fight, but there are risks

August 22, 2025

Gavin Newsom is having a moment. In the national struggle over U.S. House control, perhaps no politician has more at stake than the California governor, who has emerged as the leading Democratic adversary to President Donald Trump. Newsom is pushing through a plan that could add five Democratic House districts in California, intended to counter five Republican seats Trump wants in Texas. Newsom’s press office is getting attention on social media for mimicking Trump’s blustery style. But voters might reject Newsom’s plan for new House districts. And while Newsom is widely seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, the maneuverings might dampen his chances.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom calls for a new way for California to redraw it's voting districts during a news conference In Sacramento, Calif., Friday July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

California rushes to plan a still unscheduled election in US House seats standoff with Texas

August 7, 2025

California Democrats are rushing to schedule an election to remake U.S. House districts to counter plans to boost Republican seats in Texas. It has created a tricky dilemma as county officials are being urged to plan for an election that hasn’t been scheduled and might not happen at all. It’s also not known if the state will cover the cost of the potential November election. Texas and California are the leading actors in a back-and-forth push to remake the balance of power in the U.S. House, kicked off when President Donald Trump called for Texas to redraw lines to boost GOP seats.

Vance blames California Dems for violent immigration protests and calls Sen. Alex Padilla ‘Jose’

June 20, 2025

Vice President JD Vance is accusing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of encouraging violent immigration protests. Vance made the remarks Friday as he seeks to rebut criticism from state officials that the Trump administration had fueled the unrest by sending federal officers to LA. Vance also referred to U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla as “Jose Padilla.” The comment came a week after Padilla was forcibly taken to the ground by officers and handcuffed after speaking out during a Los Angeles press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Padilla’s office called it a “cheap shot,” and Newsom and Bass called Vance’s comments “nonsense.”

California governor says ‘democracy is under assault’ by Trump as feds intervene in LA protests

June 10, 2025

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says the federal military intervention in Los Angeles marks the onset of a much broader effort by President Donald Trump to overturn political and cultural norms at the heart of the nation’s democracy. In a prime-time speech Wednesday clearly directed to a national audience, the potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate said the arrival of National Guard and Marine troops in the city was not simply about quelling protests that followed immigration raids by federal authorities. Instead, Newsom says it was part of Trump’s calculated “war” intended to upend the foundations of society and concentrate power in the White House.

MICHAEL R. BLOOD Political Writer.