Yesterday featured a rash of surprising announcements about top Democrats, facing tough reelection prospects, ending their campaigns.

In Connecticut, embattled Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the powerful Senate Banking Committee, indicated he would not seek reelection. Dodd faced several well-funded GOP candidates and trailed to all of them in head-to-head matchups. However, he will be replaced with Attorney General Richard Bloomenthal, the most popular politician in the state, dramatically improving Democrats chances of holding that seat.

In Colorado, Governor Doug Ritter, still in his first term and mired in poor approval ratings, decided to forgo reelection. Democrats will likely tap Denver Mayor John Lickenhooper, a moderate with strong name ID. Former Congressman Scott McInnis is the consensus Republican candidate and he’s expected to have a much tougher time with Lickenhooper than he would have with Ritter.

Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry ended his bid to succeed Governor Jennifer Granholm after polls consistently showed him losing to any of the Republican candidates. Several Democrats are looking at the race but speculation centers on… Read More

George Radanovich’s retirement announcement has sent the Central Valley into a feeding frenzy on news of candidates looking to run to replace him. A solid Republican seat, all of the action for this one will be in the June primary.

So far I have heard from all of the campaigns of the major candidates. There are two potential candidates from the Fresno area, former Secretary of State Bill Jones, and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson. To the North, there are former Congressman Richard Pombo, and State Senator Jeff Denham. Truth be known, any of them would be a fine Member of Congress. Having four of them in the race will make it a real barnburner.

In this election, however, my sense is that old paradigms don’t matter. I don’t think fundraising is going to matter as much, and some of the issues that should really matter a lot won’t matter at all.

As everyone knows, the Central Valley here is the victim of a man made drought, fueled by outrageous Endangered Species laws, and the resulting unemployment is staggering. Hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile ag land remain fallow, threatening and endangering our… Read More

State Senator Mark Wyland has just sent a thoughtful and important letter to the Governor and legislative leaders calling for a halt to all of the non-essential gyrations of the state legislature, and for a razor-sharp focus on job creation.

I’ve included the text of the Senator’s letter below. Governor Schwarzenegger would do well to read this, and include this idea in his State of the State Address tomorrow. In fact, I feel comfortable saying that Senator Wyland wouldn’t mind a bit if the Governor embraced this idea and took ownership of it!

The reality is that our fiscal problems are so bad that all of the non-essential work of the legislature during this time amounts to moving deck-chairs around the Titanic. How about focusing on the big hole caused by the iceberg?

Dear Governor and Legislative Leaders … Read More

2010 is already here and it’s looking like it’s going to be another grim year for California’s economy. As we look ahead and try to find solutions to our state’s problems, it’s easy to forget about the decisions that brought us to our current plight.

Americans for Prosperity of California has produced a 5-minute video detailing 12 of the decisions California’s government made in 2009 that completely lacked common sense. It’s actions like the 12 listed in the video that explain how government intrusion has led to so many of our current problems.

… Read More

As we have watched the Governor and legislature go through contortions to try and change California state law in order to qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal payments, I think it is worth stepping back and looking at the tragedy of federal preemption that is taking place, and also the irony of liberals becoming the victim of the larger role for the federal government which they advocate.

The federal government cannot order the states to enact laws in most areas of everyday life, not the least of which is education policy. That is on purpose. When our nation was founded, it was with the idea that our country’s national government would be limited in scope, especially on domestic issues. Remember that the American revolution was all about throwing off the… Read More

While the recall effort against Aseemblyman Anthony Adams may have failed to qualify, apparently proponents of it will be able to claim victory anyways…

Today Adams announced with little fanfare that he will not be seeking reelection this year.

While Adams did not specify exactly why he is retiring early, one can likely conclude that the specter of a tough reelection in a June primary would weigh heavily on such a decision.

Adams rather brazenly and infamously was one of a handful of Republicans last February who “reneged” on their written pledge to oppose tax increases — and not cast a vote to enact $16 billion in higher sales, income and car taxes — but also voted to place billions more in higher taxes on the ballot (these were soundly defeated by voters).

Adams' district is a “safe GOP” seat. Look for his successor to make it clear that the next Assemblyman from the 59th District will not vote to raise taxes.… Read More

Major defense contractor Northrop Grumman said it plans to move its headquarters from El Segundo to the Washington D.C. area by 2011. The Washington Post reports the company is looking for a site somewhere around the nation’s capital and plans to identify one in the next few months. This movewill benefit the economy in the D.C. region, but it represents yet one more blow to California’s bruised economy.

"As a global security company with a large customer base in the Washington, D.C. region, this move will enable us to better serve our nation and customers," Northrop chief executive Wes Bush said in a statement. Northrop is the father of the proposed KC-45 tanker, the in-flight refueling aircraft that was the subject of a big fight with rival Boeing, according to the Washington Post.

Read more here.… Read More

When we broke the news on FlashReport last July that Steve Danon was in the race for San Diego County Supervisor in 2012 — whether or not incumbent Pam Slater-Price would seek her own sixth term in the Third District — some political watchers raised eyebrows about the timing. After all, the election was still three years away.

However, Danon’s apparent "early foray" has done nothing to hurt him, it seems. His campaign is attracting support from a mix of influentials that haven’t shown a willingness to oppose a sitting supervisor since perhaps the mid-1980s. In fact, Danon could be demonstrating more progress in a 2012 effort than some of the current challengers are displaying in this year’s races.

No surprise that Danon has the support of his boss, Congressman Brian Bilbray. It was also announced several weeks ago that the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association was backing him (early even for them).

As the press release below notes, Danon is garnering some additional support. Campaign statements will show the chairs of both the… Read More