Midway through this summer, a high-quality poll found that Democrats in California were overwhelmingly in favor of the upcoming ballot measure for a one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth.
The ratio was more than 4 to 1. But the state’s most powerful Democrats – including the governor Gavin Newsom, his near-certain successor Xavier Becerra and the Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass – have lined up with Silicon Valley billionaires who’ve raised upward of $340m to defeat the initiative.
Connie chan and Saikat chakrabati were both running on a progressive platform and Chan won the primary because she had more local connections, not because Saikat was more progressive. If anything Connie had more working class bona fides being backed by the working families party and not being a centi-millionaire.
Even Scott wiener, the moderate poised to win, supports Medicare for all, Pro act, abolishing ICE, anti-AI, and even calling Gaza a genocide (after he was forced to) . By most measures he will be on the far left of the house.