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Gavin Newsom tells CNN’s Jake Tapper he won’t run for president if Kamala Harris runs in 2028
Some Democrats are recalibrating their approach to transgender issues as they seek a path to power
Issue affects small group of people but is one of GOP’s most common talking points.
Some Democrats are recalibrating their approach to transgender issues as they seek a path to power
Issue affects small group of people but is one of GOP’s most common talking points.
Some Democrats are recalibrating their approach to transgender issues as they seek a path to power
California Gov. Gavin Newsom does not like being on Donald Trump’s side on any issue. But when it comes to transgender girls and women in sports, particularly at the school level, the Democrat said he largely agrees with the Republican president. Newsom, one of his party’s leading White House prospects, believes it’s “deeply unfair” for […]
Trump and Newsom take different approaches to energize voters ahead of midterms
With the midterm elections less than two months away, President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom are employing contrasting strategies to energize their respective voter bases.
Will California progressivism crush Newsom presidential hopes?
Gavin Newsom leaves office in a few months, allowing him to devote all of his time to a 2028 presidential run. The question is whether he can sell a progressive agenda outside the comfortable confines of California.
Gov. Newsom proclaims Patriot Day in California, 25 years after 9/11
It's been 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks
California's post-production workers urge governor to sign tax credit
Post workers and Mayor Karen Bass urged Newsom to sign AB 2319, California's first stand-alone post-production tax credit. He has until Sept. 30.
California’s health care reckoning could soon become Becerra’s problem
With Gavin Newsom is on his way out, advocates are hoping the former Biden Health secretary can rebuild California’s safety net despite fiscal pressures.
Health problem could delay sentencing for Gov. Newsom's ex-chief of staff
Dana Williamson, a former top political aide to key Democratic leaders in California, including Gov. Newsom, is recovering from what appears to be an unplanned surgery and court records show her attorney is asking a federal court to delay her sentencing.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff seeks to delay sentencing because of health issues
Dana Williamson, Newsom's onetime chief of staff, is seeking to delay her sentencing date for political corruption because of health issues, according to documents.
Joel Pollak on LA homelessness, Gavin Newsom's bills
California Post opinion editor Joel Pollak joins Cheryl Casone to discuss Mayor Karen Bass being pressed on Los Angeles homelessness spending, President Donald Trump's tax incentives for Hollywood and Governor Gavin Newsom's progressive bills.
CNN to host California gubernatorial debate ahead of November election
CNN will host a California gubernatorial debate later this month, just weeks before Election Day as voters in the nation’s most populous state decide who will succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
On campaign trail, Gavin Newsom leans into his California roots
The perception that California is a bad place to live is the result of lies, Gov. Gavin Newsom contends, peddled by right-wing media outlets.
California made Gavin Newsom famous. Will it drag down his 2028 presidential ambitions?
California's Democratic governor has barely begun to address what may be his biggest political liability as he stakes a claim as an early front-runner in the Democratic Party's 2028 shadow primary.
State lawmakers are worried about PG&E's plan to spend less money on projects
California lawmakers and Gov. Newsom face a new hurdle amid the debate over wildfire liability as the state's largest power company prepares to spend billions less than expected on energy projects it had promised.
California made Gavin Newsom famous. Will it drag down his 2028 presidential ambitions?
Gavin Newsom’s secret is no secret here in South Carolina
California made Gavin Newsom famous. Will it drag down his 2028 presidential ambitions?
Gavin Newsom’s secret is no secret here in South Carolina
California made Gavin Newsom famous. Will it drag down his 2028 presidential ambitions?
Gavin Newsom’s secret is no secret here in South Carolina.
California made Gavin Newsom famous. Will it drag down his 2028 presidential ambitions?
Gavin Newsom’s secret is no secret here in South Carolina
California made Gavin Newsom famous. Will it drag down his 2028 presidential ambitions?
Gavin Newsom’s secret is no secret here in South Carolina.
In South Carolina, Newsom makes an early play for 2028 voters
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trip to Alabama and the Carolinas offers an early look at his approach on the campaign trail as he moves toward a likely presidential bid in 2028.
Newsom says he plans to endorse in S.F. House race
Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to endorse in the San Francisco congressional race to replace Nancy Pelosi, and that he would likely do so as part of a batch of endorsements in California races.
Why a signature Newsom power move flopped in the last days of the Legislative session
The lame-duck governor's penchant for pushing last-minute demands on California’s Legislature didn't work out as it has in years past.
In standoff with Newsom, California Democrats claw back $450 million for climate projects
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new carbon market rules threatened money for certain climate programs. He struck a deal to continue funding for transit and water projects.
Should California backfill science funding Trump cut? Voters could decide in 2028
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A California science bond measure to counter the Trump administration’s research cuts is back from the dead after state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a deal last week to place the $7.5 billion request to voters on the March 2028 ballot. Senate […]
California Legislature to vote on wildfire reforms after blocking Newsom's plan
Newsom's failure to get his full plan passed marked a rare loss for the governor
$7.5-billion California science bond measure awaits Newsom’s sign-off
California lawmakers sent a $7.5-billion science research bond measure to Gov. Gavin Newsom. If signed, it would go before voters on the March 2028 ballot.
California to get more power to sue big businesses under anti-monopoly bill going to Newsom
California prosecutors would gain new powers to sue big businesses over anti-competitive practices under a bill Democratic lawmakers sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Lawmakers send bills to Newsom shoring up ballot security, transparency for paid political posts
California lawmakers on Sunday approved bills aimed at preventing interference in this fall’s midterm elections and requiring more transparency from social media influencers who are paid by political campaigns.
Trump administration cuts health care coverage for some transgender youth in California
Newsom’s 2026-27 budget already includes $10 million for “capacity grants to gender-affirming care services providers,” plus $8 million each in the next two budget years.
California lawmakers strike wildfire deal that leaves out most of Newsom’s big demands
Newsom backed off his plan to ease utilities' wildfire costs after Democratic lawmakers refused to shift the burden to insurers and survivors
California legislative leaders, Gov. Gavin Newsom announce utility wildfire deal
“This system needs full structural reform — not a partial one.”
California’s opposition is facing a political ‘machine,’ Christopher Rufo says
Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo reviews California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tenure on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin.’
California’s political battle over key environmental law brews on two fronts
In recent years, the perpetual CEQA debate has centered on its use — or misuse — as local governments were pressed by the state to increase housing development, particularly apartments for low- and medium-income families.
Enough with the podcasts. We elected politicians, not influencers.
From bikini pics to podcast launches, our elected officials are increasingly obsessed with becoming influencers – chasing followers while the actual job of governing gets left behind.
Newsom promises new legal fight after Trump gets Supreme Court victory on mail-in voting
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state will sue again after the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling allowed Trump's mail-in voting restrictions.
Newsom’s climate whisperer gets some political cover
The Senate Rules Committee gave California Air Resources Board chair Lauren Sanchez the thumbs up — and aired some concerns about the powerful climate agency.
Enough with the podcasts. We elected politicians, not influencers.
Nancy Mace posed in a bikini. Gavin Newsom launched a podcast. AOC and Bernie Sanders are TikTok stars. Can they start doing the jobs we pay them for?
Newsom's attack dog taunts Buttigieg over South Carolina visit as 2028 fight heats up
A Gavin Newsom aide mocked former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's South Carolina NAACP visit as the Democratic Party faces a growing fight over Black voter outreach in 2028.
Gavin Newsom is selling his Sacramento mansion
The sale is Newsom's "next step" ahead of his job transition next year.
Newsom returns to a defining California fight: Who pays for wildfire damage?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking state lawmakers to shield utilities from financial trouble if their equipment sparks a wildfire by limiting the amount they have to pay victims and attorneys.
Newsom urges California families to sign up for Trump Accounts in rare bipartisan moment
Gov. Gavin Newsom is encouraging families to take advantage of a program bearing the name of one of his biggest political rivals: President Donald Trump.
Gavin Newsom wants to broker a last-minute wildfire insurance deal
As his time as governor comes to an end, Gavin Newsom is wading back into the same thorny political thicket he found himself in when he was first elected: California’s wildfire liability.
Trump Accounts Get an Unlikely Endorser: Gavin Newsom
Mr. Newsom, the governor of California, normally has harsh words for President Trump. But he called the new children’s savings accounts “one of the best things” the president has done.
Gavin Newsom’s unfinished wildfire business
His final legislative push is angering insurance companies, wildfire victims and local officials — and billions of dollars are at stake.
Governor Newsom secures federal disaster assistance for small businesses impacted by Boyle Heights warehouse fire
What you need to know: Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to help small businesses and private nonprofit organizations recover from economic losses caused by the 2026 Los Palos incident, also known as the Boyle Heights warehouse fire, in Los Angeles. SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the […]
Newsom Promotes Affordable Insulin, But California's Generic Label Off To A Slow Start
By Angela Hart and KFF Health News HealthDay ReportersTUESDAY, Aug. 18, 2026 (HealthDay News) — At a Walgreens in San Francisco’s bustling Japantown neighborhood, pharmacist Margaret On stocks two boxes of long-acting insulin pens from California’s new prescription drug label, CalRx, emblazoned ...
Column: Xavier Becerra won't deliver the home runs — or strikeouts — racked up by Newsom, Schwarzenegger
California’s next governor, Xavier Becerra, is a “small ball” player, to borrow a baseball term.
Gov. Newsom reignites debate over how much electric companies should pay for causing a wildfire
Governor Gavin Newsom is pushing California lawmakers to limit how much private utility companies pay when their equipment causes catastrophic wildfires, as the state's wildfire liability fund nears depletion.
Inside California Politics: Newsom campaigns for midterms, state Republicans pick new senate minorty leader
(Inside California Politics) — This week on Inside California Politics, Eytan Wallace walks viewers through the packed week of news, including Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trip to Michigan, the select…
Health education bill awaits Gov. Newsom’s signature
The latest education news updates from EdSource.
Health education bill sent to Newsom’s desk after unanimous vote in Legislature
The Ready to Learn, Ready for Health Act proposes updated educational frameworks that include materials on preventive health measures.
Gavin Newsom's 'hidden climate tax' hitting Americans nationwide, lawmaker warns
Rep. Vince Fong targets the EPA-authorized vessel at berth regulation that lets California levy massive penalties on cargo ships docked at its ports.
California Gov. Newsom visits Michigan in bid to boost Democrats
Potential candidate for president visit UAW local in Oakland County Sunday as he rallies volunteers for canvass launch.
California Forever hopes for last minute help from state lawmakers, Gov. Newsom
The developers of a new, proposed town called California Forever have been struggling to get it started and are now hoping to get some last-minute help from state lawmakers and the governor to move it forward.
Colton Hood Explains Approach to Giants' CB Battle
The New York Giants' No. 2 cornerback spot is there for Colton Hood to grab. The rookie cornerback spoke about his ongoing competition against Deonte Banks and veteran Greg Newsome II and addressed why he's not concerning himself with the depth chart just yet. Hood was the Giants' second-round pick (No. 37) and is perceived as the cornerback of the future.
Newsom slammed as a 'chameleon of politics' ahead of Michigan visit
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasts California Gov. Gavin Newsom as a 'chameleon of politics' ahead of an upcoming visit to Michigan amid 2028 speculation.
Newsom heading to Michigan to boost Democrats on heels of El-Sayed win
The trip will also allow Newsom to build support in a critical swing state as he gears up for a possible presidential run in 2028.
California Democrats defy Newsom, back billionaire tax
The state’s Democratic Party voted to support California’s billionaire tax, siding with a growing populist movement seeking accountability for the rich
LA County says a program meant to help people with serious mental illness is gaining traction
Gov. Gavin Newsom's mental health court is gaining more participants in Los Angeles County. CARE Court treats people with serious mental health conditions.
Which version of Gavin Newsom will voters see if he runs for president?
Gavin Newsom has been trying to adjust his national image, but that can be tricky in an era of political volatility.
California Democratic Party endorses Prop. 40 billionaire tax
The California Democratic Party backed Prop. 40, a 5% billionaire tax for healthcare, despite heavy pushback from Newsom and labor leaders.
Why Congressman Vince Fong is urging the Trump administration to reject a health tax in California
Congressman Vince Fong has voiced strong opposition to Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed changes to California’s Managed Care Organization tax, arguing that the plan misuses resources and worsens the state’s affordability crisis.
Why Congressman Vince Fong is urging the Trump administration to reject a health tax in California
Congressman Vince Fong has voiced strong opposition to Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed changes to California’s Managed Care Organization tax, arguing that the plan misuses resources and worsens the state’s affordability crisis.
Experts say Newsom's tax returns don't show full picture of his wealth
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom released their tax returns this week, covering the years 2021 to 2024, as federal investigations reportedly focus on their nonprofits.
Newsom and Trump agree on one way to address AI's impact
Gov. Gavin Newsom, President Donald Trump, Sen. Bernie Sanders, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and others are uniting around the idea of “universal basic capital.”
Gavin Newsom Reportedly Concerned About Paramount, WB Merger State Suit
In a Friday report, sources told The Wall Street Journal that California's governor has said if the merger is blocked due to the lawsuit, state employment will suffer, and that "Newsom’s office has encouraged Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, which has independent authority to file such suits, to find a resolution out of court."
DHS agent calls raid outside Newsom event a 'stunt' in court documents
A federal immigration agent said in newly publicized court documents that an immigration raid outside a political rally hosted by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year was a “stunt.”
DHS testimony confirms raid of Newsom press conference was ‘political,’ ‘a stunt’
A year ago, when immigration agents raided a gubernatorial event, DHS said the agents were “focused on enforcing the law.” We now know that wasn’t true.
Newsom affair as mayor resurfaces amid presidential run rumors
Rippey detailed her ongoing struggle with alcoholism and sobriety.
Valladares joins bipartisan coalition aiming to protect entertainment industry jobs
News release State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Acton, joined 38 of her legislative colleagues in sending a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, urging them to protect […]
Ranking Members Markey, Velázquez Push to Roll Back Trump Administration’s Discriminatory SBA Lending Policy that Blocks Immigrant Entrepreneurs from Pursuing the American Dream
Bicameral resolution would rescind Trump administration policy banning green card holders from accessing SBA loans Resolution Text (PDF) | One-Pager (PDF) (Washington, July 23) – Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7) today introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind the Trump administration’s policy that bans green card holders from accessing essential Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to start and grow their businesses and invest in Main Streets nationwide. Trump’s SBA restrictions buck decades of precedent, attacking immigrant small business owners who are lawfully in the U.S. with no justification. The Trump administration’s green card holder ban is the most recent escalation of SBA’s draconian citizenship restrictions that are killing jobs and putting the American Dream further out of reach for entrepreneurs. In Fiscal Year 2025, the SBA made an estimated $5.7 billion in loans to green card holders, which supported more than 80,000 American jobs. Ranking Member Markey’s introduction of the CRA resolution follows his introduction of the Investing in the American Dream Act alongside Ranking Member Velázquez earlier this year. The Investing in the American Dream Act would roll back the SBA’s draconian lending restrictions and restore previous SBA lending policies for immigrant entrepreneurs lawfully in the U.S., including green card holders, refugees, and asylees. More than 100 organizations have called for the passage of the legislation and over 60 Massachusetts state legislators have raised concerns about the impact of the citizenship restrictions in their local communities. “Once again, Donald Trump is shutting hardworking immigrants out of the American Dream with his discriminatory and dangerous policies, fear tactics, and violent rhetoric. The anti-small business lending requirements implemented by Trump’s SBA won’t Make America Great Again—they are Making America Hate Again,” said Ranking Member Markey. “I am fighting every single day to roll back Trump’s brazen attempt to steal the American Dream from entrepreneurs in Massachusetts and across the country who enrich our communities, strengthen our Main Streets, and create jobs in the United States.” “Starting and owning your own business is one of the pillars of the American Dream. Under the Trump Administration, the SBA has sought to deny immigrant small business owners and entrepreneurs that dream by preventing them from accessing the capital they need to grow and scale their businesses. Not only is this policy cruel, but it is also self-defeating and holds our country back economically. As Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, I will do everything in my power to reverse this terrible policy,” said Ranking Member Velázquez. Massachusetts state legislators applauded Ranking Member Markey’s actions and emphasized the critical contributions of green card holders to Bay State communities and the Commonwealth’s economy. "Green card holders are our neighbors, workers, entrepreneurs, and taxpayers,” said Massachusetts State Senator Adam Gómez (D-Springfield), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses. “They open restaurants, launch small businesses, create jobs, and contribute every day to the economic strength of Massachusetts. Denying lawful permanent residents access to SBA loan programs doesn't make our economy stronger—it makes it harder for small businesses to succeed. I support this resolution because opportunity should never be limited by unnecessary barriers that prevent hardworking people from investing in their communities and pursuing the American dream." “Senator Markey’s CRA Resolution provides a valuable moment for our federal leaders to show their commitment to small businesses and the American Dream,” said Massachusetts State Representative Andy X. Vargas (D-Haverhill), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses. “The SBA’s recent policy restricting lawful residents from accessing the popular 7(a) and 504 programs has shut out some of the most entrepreneurial and hard-working members of our community from much-need capital. In Massachusetts, these programs have invested millions of dollars into small businesses owned by green card holders, supporting thousands of jobs. This should not be a partisan issue. People who worked hard, have legal status, and contribute so much to their communities via employment and economic impact don’t deserve to be in the crosshairs for political purposes. The Senator’s resolution is a step forward in restoring access to the American Dream that small business owners across the country deserve.” Several small business advocates and stakeholders voiced their support for Ranking Member Markey’s efforts to roll back Trump SBA’s discriminatory lending rules. “Immigrant-owned businesses are the foundation of the American economy. They power our neighborhoods, provide essential services, and employ our loved ones. Yet, systemic hurdles like the Small Business Administration’s citizenship restrictions unfairly block their path to prosperity," said Elizabeth Sweet, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition. "We applaud Senator Markey’s continued leadership and look forward to a future where immigrant entrepreneurs can share their ingenuity without arbitrary restrictions that hold us all back.” “Independent restaurants have always been built by people willing to work hard, take risks, and invest in their communities. When lawfully authorized entrepreneurs lose access to the financing they need to start or grow a business, we all lose. These are the businesses creating jobs, filling storefronts, and strengthening our neighborhoods. Access to capital should help good businesses succeed, and that’s exactly what restoring these SBA loan programs would do,” said Jen Ziskin, Executive Director of Massachusetts Restaurants United. “At the Latino Economic Development Corporation, we see firsthand that access to capital transforms lives, creates jobs, and strengthens neighborhoods. Many of the entrepreneurs we serve are lawful permanent residents who have invested their savings, opened businesses, and employ local residents. Restricting access to SBA financing doesn’t just impact business owners, it limits economic opportunity for entire communities. Main Street succeeds when every qualified entrepreneur has a fair chance to grow,” said Andrew Melendez, CEO and Founder of the Latino Economic Development Corporation. "Immigrants and immigrant-owned businesses are the heart and soul of small business communities in cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth, and across America. Limiting access to these SBA loans not only sends the wrong message about immigration, it will have significant negative economic impact on our small business ecosystem,” said Keith Mahoney, Vice President of Public Affairs at the Boston Foundation. “The SBA’s recent policy changes that prevent Legal Permanent Residents, and other non-citizens from participating in any of the SBA’s valuable programs are changes that are unwelcome, immoral, and antithetical to our purpose, our mission, and our vision for Massachusetts communities and businesses. Immigrant entrepreneurs and others have expressed concern that Common Capital will ‘report them to ICE,’ so loan demand has decreased. There is no valid reason for excluding Legal Permanent Residents and other noncitizens who are lawfully present in the U.S. from accessing the SBA’s programs. Immigrant entrepreneurs start businesses, they create jobs, they support their families and their communities. Our government should be in the business of encouraging their full participation in our economy,” said Raymond Lanza-Weil, President of Common Capital. "ECCHO-Latino now represents over 400 educators and 300 microbusinesses across Massachusetts, where immigrants make up 60% of the childcare workforce. When a green card holder is ready to grow her business—from expanding her home child care to opening a center—she shouldn't be turned away by local banks simply because of federal citizenship rules. Blocking access to SBA loans kills opportunity and deepens our state's childcare crisis. ECCHO-Latino strongly supports Senator Markey and Representative Velázquez in passing this resolution to put Main Street first," said Harold Antonio Blanco, Co-Founder & Executive Director of ECCHO-Latino Inc. "This is exactly how political ideology ruins an economy. Washington has taken lawful, tax-paying entrepreneurs who live in our communities, invest in America, and hire American workers, and declared their businesses ineligible for critical financing simply because a green card holder owns even a fraction of the company. Using policies ostensibly aimed at illegal immigration to punish lawful permanent residents is nothing short of ideological overreach and economic self-sabotage. The SBA exists to help viable small businesses grow, rather than imposing nativist tests that ignore an entrepreneur’s credit history, business plan, or ability to create jobs. When the federal government closes the door on qualified entrepreneurs, they’re also closing the door on American entrepreneurship and on American workers, while handing future companies, jobs, innovation, and investment to our competitors. America should be competing to attract people who want to invest and build here, not creating arbitrary barriers that drive their talent and capital elsewhere,” said Javier Palomarez, President and CEO of the United States Hispanic Business Council (USHBC). "The U.S. Small Business Administration's decision to prohibit legal permanent residents, including green card holders, from accessing SBA-backed loans has the potential for disastrous consequences that could reverberate throughout America's economy for years to come. After all, immigrants are twice as likely to start small businesses as U.S.-born individuals. Congress must overturn rules requiring the SBA to block legal permanent residents from accessing lending resources because so many of the entrepreneurs who drive job creation in this country were born outside the United States," said John Arensemeyer, Founder and CEO of Small Business Majority. “NCRC supports the Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn SBA’s citizenship restrictions that bar green-card holders from receiving the 7(a) and 504 loans. When qualified entrepreneurs are denied access to SBA loans, all of Main Street gets hurt. Communities lose jobs. Neighborhoods lose services. Local economies lose the opportunity to build wealth and shrink disparities,” said Jesse Van Tol, President & CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). “We cannot afford to have the American Dream out of reach for hard-working, immigrant small business owners.” “Asian Americans and Asian immigrants have been integral in building local economies. They create businesses, jobs, and opportunities in communities across the country that benefit everyone. Lawful permanent residents pay taxes, invest in their communities, and strengthen Main Street, yet the SBA's discriminatory citizenship restrictions unfairly deny them access to the same tools that help small businesses grow and succeed. We applaud congressional leaders for advancing this resolution to overturn the latest restrictions on SBA lending for green card holders, and we urge lawmakers to also pass the Investing in the American Dream Act to fully restore access to SBA loan programs for all eligible people in the United States. Ensuring that immigrant-owned small businesses have a fair opportunity to access capital is essential to building a stronger, more inclusive economy that works for all,” said Joanna Derman, Director of Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights and National Security at Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC). "Immigrant-owned businesses often turn to SBA 7(a) and 504 loans because they face higher denial rates from traditional lenders,” said Imani Augustus, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunity. "These programs provide the capital they need to expand operations, hire workers, and invest in their businesses. Reversing the ban on lawful permanent residents is a critical first step toward ensuring these financing tools are accessible to everyone strengthening their communities through entrepreneurship. We applaud this action and urge Congress to fully restore access by passing the Investing in the American Dream Act.” "Last year, nearly 5,700 SBA loans worth $5.7 billion went to businesses owned by green card holders, supporting more than 80,000 jobs. These are entrepreneurs who have put down roots here, hired their neighbors, and invested in the communities they call home. Barring them from capital doesn't protect Main Street—it starves it. What should matter is the strength of a business and its potential to grow, not the immigration status of its owner. This resolution doesn’t eliminate all the citizenship restrictions in SBA’s policy change, but it’s a step toward restoring a commonsense principle that stood for more than 30 years," said Howard Wial, Director of Research at ICIC. "I'm encouraged to see Congress moving to reopen access to capital for green card holders, a key tool for small business survival. Green card holders accounted for an estimated 5,700 SBA loans in Fiscal Year 2025, worth $5.7 billion and supporting more than 80,000 jobs across the country. That capital is often what keeps a business operating through its toughest stretches when cash flow gets tight. When qualified entrepreneurs lose access to that capital over their immigration status rather than their ability to repay a loan, it's the local economy that pays the price,” said Small Business for America's Future Co-Chair Shaundell Newsome, Founder of Sumnu Marketing. “Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and entrepreneurs —including green card holders — take risks every day to build businesses, create jobs, and strengthen communities. SBA loan programs should be administered with clear, consistent standards that safeguard public resources while ensuring these programs remain focused on supporting eligible entrepreneurs and job creators. This resolution responds to the opportunity to support all entrepreneurs and preserve the integrity of federally supported lending programs. We applaud the introduction of this resolution and remain committed to policies that strengthen small businesses, promote economic growth, and maintain confidence in these vital lending programs,” said Carolina Martinez, CEO of CAMEO Network. “National CAPACD wholeheartedly supports the introduction of this resolution aimed at overturning the SBA's misguided policy prohibiting immigrants from accessing the 7(a) and 504 loan programs. As a coalition, we are committed to creating systems, organizations, and societies that are fair and just. We believe we and our economy are stronger when we uplift our rich and diverse communities. Access to capital helps small businesses create jobs, build wealth, and strengthen neighborhoods. Restoring this pathway is an important first step toward ensuring immigrant entrepreneurs can continue to grow their businesses and contribute positively to our economy as a whole. We urge Congress to build on this momentum by passing the Investing in the American Dream Act, which would fully restore fair access to safe and affordable credit and uphold our commitment to a fair economy that works for everyone,” said Seema Agnani, CEO of National CAPACD. Ranking Member Markey is fighting for small business owners and immigrants that rely on SBA loans to start and run their businesses, create jobs, and contribute to their communities. In May, Ranking Member Markey highlighted the significant contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs in Massachusetts and across the country and condemned the Trump administration’s repeated attacks on immigrant communities at a Small Business Committee hearing. MIRA’s Elizabeth Sweet, who participated in Ranking Member Markey’s listening session earlier in May, provided testimony at the hearing. Also in May, Ranking Member Markey hosted a listening session at the Urban College of Boston to hear directly from several Massachusetts immigrant small business owners, lenders, and chambers of commerce how President Trump’s cruel and callous anti-immigrant policies are hurting Main Streets in the Bay State. Earlier in May, Ranking Member Markey hosted a press conference alongside Ranking Member Velázquez, Democratic lawmakers, and stakeholders to condemn the Trump administration’s harmful anti-immigrant lending policies and to introduce the Investing in the American Dream Act. In March, Ranking Member Markey released a comprehensive report detailing the harms to small business owners, workers, and consumers caused by the Trump administration’s ICE raids in communities across the country. In February, Ranking Member Markey introduced the Small Business ICE Disruption Fund Act, which would provide grants to small businesses that have been impacted by the Trump administration’s violent immigration enforcement actions on Main Streets across the United States. Earlier in February, Ranking Member Markey, Ranking Member Velázquez, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) sent a letter urging the SBA to rescind their lending rule change that bars legal permanent residents from receiving SBA loans. Previously, Ranking Members Markey and Velázquez released a statement condemning the actions of the SBA after it announced that small businesses with legal permanent residents will be barred from receiving SBA loans. In December 2025, Ranking Member Markey and all Democratic members of the Senate Small Business Committee sent a letter to the SBA reiterating concerns with the SBA’s citizenship requirements and highlighting a drop in SBA lending volume. In September 2025, Ranking Member Markey heard directly from SBA lenders about the issues with the citizenship verification requirements. In July 2025, Ranking Members Markey and Velázquez sent a letter to the SBA expressing serious concerns with the agency’s new, draconian citizenship verification requirements that require small businesses seeking SBA loans to be 100% owned by U.S. citizens, nationals, and legal permanent residents. SBA has not responded to the letter. ###
Newsom's populist act: Oppose state billionaire tax, embrace federal one
Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the California wealth tax measure and supports one nationally. But there’s another tax-the-rich measure on the state ballot.
Trump administration deferring Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the administration of targeting it for political reasons
Trump administration deferring Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the administration of targeting it for political reasons
Shaky political "science": breakdown of the peer review process
[This article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in December 2025, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting (RCV). Many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first four articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report; the second one analyzed a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report; a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research; and a fourth article that analyzed seven studies sponsored by New America’s political reform program that deployed flawed methodology based on “simulated” elections instead of real-world elections, which when combined with some basic misunderstandings of RCV, produced odd and misleading results]. In this fifth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we examine two flawed studies on the impact of RCV on voter turnout authored by San Francisco State University professor Jason McDaniel. McDaniel’s research in these two papers stands out for its puzzling methodology, inadequate and cherry-picked data, and faulty analyses that not only misunderstands ranked choice voting but reflects a basic misunderstanding of politics in general. The first of the McDaniel studies actually passed through a peer review process and then was subsequently published by the Journal of Urban Affairs, despite its obvious errors. It is perplexing that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the errors and send it back to McDaniel for a rewrite or outright rejection. This calls into question the credibility of the peer review process itself. The peer review process is supposed to represent the intellectual pinnacle of the profession – a way for academics to certify the quality of each other’s work, and to act as a check against sloppy research. In the case of the McDaniel study, the peer review process failed. Yet his flawed study has been cited dozens of times by other political scientists in their own flawed works — an unvirtuous circle of academic research. Here is the first Jason McDaniel study that we analyzed: “Writing the Rules to Rank the Candidates: Examining the Impact of Instant-Runoff Voting on Racial Group Turnout in San Francisco Mayoral Elections,” by Jason McDaniel, 2016, Journal of Urban Affairs. This study covered San Francisco’s use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in mayoral elections, purporting to show that RCV reduces voter turnout overall, increases voter errors, and has a negative impact on “marginal populations,” i.e. racial minorities, mainly as the result of the alleged complexity of RCV asking voters to rank candidates and having to be familiar with multiple candidates and related dynamics. McDaniel reached these conclusions by examining five San Francisco mayoral elections taking place in odd years (i.e. where there are no federal or state races on the ballot) from 1995 to 2011, comparing three earlier non-RCV races (in 1995, 1999 and 2003) with the later two RCV races (in 2007 and 2011). Only two RCV races were studied, and as McDaniel acknowledged, only the contest in 2011 was “competitive” (that contest in 2007 was the first mayoral election using RCV, and incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom won easily in the first round of counting, earning 74% of first choices and far ahead of the second place candidate who had just 6.3% of first choices). Yet even the allegedly competitive contest in 2011was won by an incumbent with a landslide margin of nearly 20 points. No other elections were studied by McDaniel, even though San Francisco elects 17 other offices besides mayor with RCV, including the 11 seats on the Board of Supervisors (the name for the city council) in even years, and six other citywide offices in odd years. Previous academic research has found that competitive elections can stimulate greater voter involvement and higher turnout. For unexplained reasons, this study ignored at least 34 other RCV races between the years 2004 to 2011, many of which were very competitive and had high voter turnout. Instead, McDaniel’s analysis based its conclusions on data from only a single, marginally-competitive mayor’s race using RCV. These 2007 and 2011 mayoral elections were the only two RCV elections that McDaniel used as the sole basis for his small data set to determine the impact of RCV on voter turnout. Despite having no meaningful data to inform his study, McDaniel nonetheless concluded that RCV lowered turnout when compared to the previous three mayoral non-RCV elections using two-round runoffs. Then, using the same inadequate database of San Francisco elections, McDaniel also found that “Instant-runoff voting is associated with a significant decline in Black voter turnout and White voter turnout…On average, Black voter turnout decreases by 18 points and White voter turnout decreases by 16 points …” But how could he credibly arrive at that conclusion when his study was based on voter turnout in two RCV contests that were not even remotely competitive? Beyond that, McDaniel tacitly admits that the key determining factor driving Black voter turnout was not RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable Black candidate. McDaniel wrote, “Black voter turnout was about 17 percentage points higher for the two elections that featured an African American candidate compared to the three elections that did not” — but one of those three elections did not use RCV. The same dynamic was present for White voter turnout, in which higher turnout was not correlated with RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable White candidate. Beyond that, McDaniel’s voter turnout results, whether correlated with the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections, showed no clear patterns. In his Figure 1, he shows low Asian voter turnout in the non-RCV elections in 1999 and 2003 when there was no viable Asian candidate running, but in the 2007 mayoral election using RCV, there is still no viable Asian candidate, yet Asian turnout increases dramatically. For Latinos, voter turnout is virtually the same in 1999 (no viable Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2003 (leading Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2007 (no viable Latino candidate, RCV elections) and 2011 (leading Latino candidate, RCV elections). Meanwhile White voter turnout increased dramatically from a low in the 2007 mayoral election, in which the leading candidate was a white incumbent, to the 2011 election in which there were no leading white candidates that finished any higher than sixth place with 5.6% of the vote. Clearly other factors were determining voter turnout than either the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections. Despite these inconsistent findings, McDaniel boldly marches forth to render conclusions about the impact of RCV on different groups of racial voters, even though his conclusions are not remotely supported by his data. This looks like the worst kind of “data cherry picking” to cover up a puzzling conclusion based on a poor data set involving only two RCV elections, neither of which were remotely competitive. McDaniel’s cherry picking didn’t stop there. In calculating voter turnout for the three non-RCV mayoral elections in 1995, 1999 and 2003, he failed to mention that in each of these years there was a two-round runoff election, with a first round election in November in which no candidate garnered a winning majority of the vote, followed by the decisive runoff in December. So there were two non-RCV elections in each election year. But McDaniel only decided to include one of the two elections in his data set, apparently the December runoff in each year (which had higher turnout in two out of the three mayor’s races, and lower turnout in the third). So he ignored the November 1995 election, the November 1999 election when turnout was only 45 percent, and the November 2003 election when turnout was only 45.7 percent. This is flawed methodology based on blatant cherry picking, since McDaniel simply omitted three elections worth of data that did not fit within his frame. His study should never have made it through a peer review process, and it is an embarrassment to political science that not only was it approved for publication, but it has been uncritically cited by dozens of other political scientists. Share A “study” without wider context or credible data Lacking a data set that included even a single competitive RCV mayoral race, McDaniel declared that RCV lowered voter turnout in 2011, when turnout was 42.5 percent. But he also ignored -- or did not realize -- that voter turnout in mayoral elections during 2011 had sharply declined in all big cities, including far more steeply in nearby Los Angeles and other cities. In fact, San Francisco’s election in 2011 had the second highest turnout of any mayoral election in the nation’s 22 largest cities from 2008-2011. Was 2011 just a particularly low turnout year all across the country, perhaps because the country was still reeling from the aftermath of the housing market collapse in 2008-2010? McDaniel ignored this factor and did not search for alternative explanations beyond his flawed thesis. Furthermore, while McDaniel suggested that RCV leads to more “overvotes” – which is an invalidated ballot in which a voter, in either a non-RCV or RCV race, makes a mistake and selects two candidates for a single choice – he failed to address that in the June 2012 US Senate primary contest, which used the typical “one-choice” plurality method and did not use RCV, there was more than five times as many overvotes in San Francisco and Oakland than in the RCV mayoral elections in those cities. Additionally, turnout had been significantly higher and more representative in RCV elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors races -- that McDaniel didn’t even bother to study -- as compared to previous “delayed two-round runoffs” for those offices, often higher by as much as 40% in the RCV races. Perhaps the most surprising irony was that an earlier study co-authored by McDaniel (Overvoting and the Equality of Voice under Instant-Runoff Voting in San Francisco by Francis Neely and Jason McDaniel, 2015, California Journal of Politics and Policy) found that overvotes are often more common in lower-income precincts, but that the pattern of overvoting is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. Wrote Neely and McDaniel: “[Overvote] errors appear to be a function of complexity in general and not IRV per se…. the pattern of overvoting is similar in both IRV and non-IRV contests…Even among votes cast in a top-of-the-ticket race like U.S. Senate, overvoting occurs in an uneven fashion” (IRV, or ‘instant runoff voting,’ is another name for ranked choice voting in single-winner contests). So McDaniel not only contradicted his own conclusion in his earlier study with Neely, but the earlier study had been an important corrective for one of the most frequently made mistakes made by anti-RCV political scientists – a continual failure to provide crucial context by pairing a comparative analysis of real world RCV elections with an analysis of real world plurality or other electoral methods. Unfortunately McDaniel’s earlier study does not get cited much by other researchers, and McDaniel did not even cite it in his own flawed study analyzed above. Incredibly, McDaniel cherrypicked McDaniel, even as his flawed study has been cited dozens of times. Despite being a textbook example of poor political “science,” featuring both inadequate as well as cherrypicked data, the shelf life of McDaniel’s study has been extended endlessly by other political scientists and media outlets who have cited it uncritically. Equally troubling, the Journal of Urban Affairs put this paper through its peer review process and published it despite its numerous flaws. McDaniel gets it wrong, Part II Not content with producing one shoddy, confused paper, McDaniel produced another one a few years later, here is the link: Electoral Rules and Voter Turnout in Mayoral Elections: An Analysis of Ranked-Choice Voting by Jason McDaniel. San Francisco State Univ. (McDaniel, 2019). In this paper, McDaniel extended his previous flawed research focused on San Francisco, about voter turnout and voter impact, to multiple RCV cities through the 2018 elections. In his data set he included San Francisco, Minneapolis, St Paul, Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro and Santa Fe. He then compared their turnout in mayoral elections to non-RCV cities, and to mayoral elections in those cities held before first RCV usage, and concluded “a significant decrease in voter turnout of approximately 3–5 percentage points in RCV cities after the implementation of RCV.” But he replicated many of the same mistakes as his first study presented above. While in this study McDaniel attempted to distinguish between various factors, such as odd year vs. even year elections, competitive races vs. noncompetitive, contests with open seats and other factors, the analysis is superficial and inadequate. He attempts to incorporate so many often-conflicting variables that his conclusions are once again unsupported by the actual data, and ultimately unconvincing (this second study never underwent a peer review process). For example, McDaniel declared that for RCV cities “in elections that are more competitive than average (margin of victory less than 20%), there is no significant RCV effect on voter turnout.” Yet McDaniel is a professor in a city, San Francisco, in which the 2018 special election using RCV to fill a mayoral vacancy was exceedingly close, decided by a margin of only one percentage point, and resulted in the second highest turnout in San Francisco history for a mayoral election. Illustrating the complexity involved in assessing the critical factors in turnout, that special election was held on the same election day as federal and state offices, which tends to boost turnout. Yet more voters participated in that RCV mayoral election than voted on the same day in the non-RCV primary for governor in which former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom was running. Even more puzzling, in this study McDaniel inaccurately cited his own previous study from 2015 with Neely. McDaniel wrote, “Neely and McDaniel (2015) examine individual ballot image files within a natural experiment, and find higher rates of ballot errors in RCV elections compared to non-RCV elections” (emphasis added). However, we quoted from that 2015 study several paragraphs above, and in actual fact Neely and McDaniel actually concluded the opposite -- that the pattern of overvoting – which is the most common form of ballot error – is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. McDaniel also ignored the fact that in Bay Area RCV elections held in even years – at the same time as federal and state elections, when turnout is highest -- the “undervote” (that is, the dropoff in ballots cast for governor or mayor) has declined, which contradicts his thesis that the act of ranking ballots in RCV elections is too complex and presents a barrier for certain demographics of voters. To his credit, McDaniel actually acknowledged another contradiction in his own paper, which found a negative RCV turnout effect in some odd-year elections but not others, admitting that “may present a challenge to the theory that increased complexity [from RCV] will have a marginal negative effect on voter turnout.” But he tried to wallpaper over that contradiction by blaming it on an unlikely source -- bad election administration. McDaniels wrote, “This would suggest that the negative impact of RCV on voter participation may be alleviated by high quality election administration,” without presenting any data or even anecdotes to support such an unfounded theory. While competent election administration of any election, whether RCV or non-RCV, is crucially important, there is no credible research that supports the far-fetched notion that the quality of election administration has much of an impact on voter turnout in US elections, whether using RCV or otherwise. Upgrade to a $5 subscription The unvirtuous circle of academic research It is puzzling how McDaniel’s first study could have survived the peer review process for the Journal of Urban Affairs. The mistakes in McDaniel’s first study above should have been obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of ranked choice voting as well as elections in general, and elections in San Francisco specifically. It undermines faith in the credibility of the peer review process to think that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the egregious errors and reject McDaniel’s sloppy research and paper. And it remains a black mark on political science that this thoroughly discredited study has been cited dozens of times by other researchers. Indeed, in our research paper it became apparent that many political scientists cite each other’s flawed research to pad their list of citations and to legitimize their own flawed research, creating an unvirtuous circle of political science. More broadly, McDaniel’s voter turnout studies, like other studies evaluating RCV’s impact on turnout, lacked a recognition that no credible opinion or research can claim that RCV increases voter turnout merely because so many voters are excited to vote for their favorite candidates instead of “lesser evil” candidates without worrying about spoilers. Instead, with respect to turnout, the advantage of RCV has always been that, in most places where it has been used, it has eliminated a pre-November primary or post-November runoff, which usually saw about half the turnout of the November general election. This is especially true during even years when there are state and federal elections on the ballot which substantially drive turnout more than local contests. Any study that does not adequately account for this non-November primary/runoff vs November general election dynamic, or odd year vs even year election factors, is simply not credible. Both of McDaniel’s studies largely failed on those grounds. Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to a $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS…your digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe
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