Hi, and happy Thursday. There are 46 days until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, but hey, who’s counting? Well, we are. And, it seems, Gov. Gavin Newsom is too.

At the Democratic governor’s behest, California lawmakers at the state Capitol this week kicked off a special legislative session intended to shield the state from Trump’s stated priorities, like deporting millions of people in the country illegally and repealing environmental protections.

Newsom wants the Legislature to approve a $25-million litigation fund to protect abortion access, climate change policies, disaster funding and LGBTQ+ rights — and to challenge policies that, he says, could “harm the state.”

But Resistance 2.0 is proving to be — awkward.

Yes, Democrats maintained their supermajority in Sacramento. But support for Trump in California has undoubtedly increased, and Republican state lawmakers have called the special session and all the talk about “Trump-proofing” California mere political theater.

“The people of California sent a clear message during this election season. They are done with the majority party’s failure to address the most important issues we face and they are ready for a return to commonsense, solution-focused governing,” Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-Santee) said in a statement. “We are thrilled to see Californians standing up against the Democrat machine and declaring, ‘enough is enough.’”

A final blue-to-red flip in California

Although Vice President Kamala Harris easily won the state with 58.5% of the vote, Trump, as of Wednesday, had received 6,081,688 votes — about 75,000 more than he received four years ago and nearly 1.6 million more than he received in 2016. (State law requires counties to finalize their official tallies 30 days after an election — which is Thursday.)

After county vote tallies were finalized, Trump earned his final blue-to-red flip in rural Imperial County, a longtime Democratic stronghold that borders Mexico and Arizona. Trump beat Harris there by 463 votes, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to win the county since 1988, when voters chose George H.W. Bush.

It is a dramatic shift. In 2020, Imperial County supported Biden by 24.4% of the vote — a roughly 25-point swing with voters choosing Trump this year by 0.8%.

The county, which relies heavily upon an agriculture industry whose workforce could be decimated under Trump’s deportation plans, has long struggled with poverty and unemployment. In October, Imperial County’s unemployment rate of 19.6% was the highest in the state and more than three times the state average, according to the Employment Development Department.

Kay Pricola, a Republican from Brawley who has advised several local candidates over the years, told me this week that — no surprise — economics and California’s high cost of living, gas prices and taxes played a big role in the county’s rightward shift.

“There’s no financial constraints on the Democratic Party,” she said. “Tax, tax, tax. Everything for everybody, and you don’t have to work for it. … We’re driving the financially responsible people out of California. Those that are tied to the land, who can’t leave, are going to have a bigger burden, bigger burden, until the point they break. And their children are going to leave.”

Trump flipped nine California counties that voted for Biden: Butte, Fresno, Merced, Imperial, Inyo, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin and Stanislaus.

Speaking of flips …

In the final outstanding race for the U.S. House of Representatives, Merced Democrat Adam Gray ousted Republican incumbent Rep. John Duarte in a nail-biter of a race in the Central Valley.

Gray was ahead by 187 votes in the 13th Congressional District when Duarte conceded Tuesday evening — the closest margin in the country.

The district was one of several seats in California seen as pivotal in the fight for control of Congress, and was one of three in the state that Democrats wrangled from Republican control.

The GOP will retain a thin majority in the U.S. next year. With Gray’s victory, Republicans will hold 220 seats — just above the 218-seat threshold needed to control the chamber — and Democrats will hold 215.

“This district is ready for independent and accountable leadership that always puts the Valley’s people ahead of partisan politics,” Gray said in a statement Tuesday, adding that he would work to build bipartisan relationships and deliver “clean water, better educational opportunities, stronger infrastructure and more good-paying jobs.”

LAUSD vs. Trump?

Meanwhile, three members of the Los Angeles Unified School District board who were just elected or reelected “are focused with apprehension” on Trump and his plans for mass deportation, ending diversity programs, nixing the teaching of history and other topics he deems “woke,” and curtailing rights recently extended to transgender and nonbinary students in California.

“The newcomers’ defensive posture against Trump is in sync with the school board members they will join next week,” The Times’ Howard Blume reported. “Two weeks ago, the board, without opposition, declared the school system a sanctuary for immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, while also calling for more politically informed civics education.”

This stand could mark the nation’s second-largest school system as a target for Trump, who has threatened to withhold federal funding from districts that oppose his agenda.

Take care,
Hailey Branson-Potts

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