California Democrats Unite Against Trump, Eye Midterm Power Shift
Fury at Donald Trump dominated the California Democratic convention in San Francisco this weekend, as thousands of delegates, activists, and elected officials gathered, emboldened by a string of victories. Confident that the Golden State will play a pivotal role in checking presidential power, they plotted a national return to influence in the upcoming midterm elections.
On Saturday, Democrats flooded the Moscone Center convention complex, sporting lanyards with Gavin Newsom's name and tote bags featuring Nancy Pelosi's favorite aphorism: "We don't Agonize, we organize." These symbols underscored a party in transition, with the former speaker nearing retirement and the term-limited governor eyeing a presidential campaign.
Fiery Speeches and Political Warnings
"Trump's reign of terror must end," declared Pelosi in her remarks, honored throughout the weekend as the "forever speaker." Adam Schiff, the California senator and a longtime Trump antagonist, invoked the grizzly bear on the state flag as a stark warning: "When you poke the bear, the bear rips your fucking head off." He proclaimed to a packed hall that "there will be a reckoning" in November.
Across hours of fiery speeches and caucus meetings, speakers highlighted the success of Proposition 50 last year—California's redistricting counterstrike to a Republican gerrymander in Texas. They argued this demonstrated the state's dual role as a "blueprint" for the national party and a bulwark against the Trump administration.
Personal Clashes and Rising Stars
Democrats nationwide are furious with the president after over a year of sweeping policy changes, including massive healthcare cuts, a sprawling deportation campaign, and the use of federal power to target political opponents and blue states. In California, the clash has felt intensely personal, as Trump has long cast the state as a liberal "hellscape." Governed by some of his most prominent adversaries, California champions environmental protections, immigrant rights, abortion access, and expanded healthcare.
With California at the vanguard of resistance to Trump 2.0, Democrats embraced new rising stars. Representative Robert Garcia, treated like a celebrity, has become a leading voice in investigating the Trump administration. At a progressive caucus meeting, Congressman Ro Khanna was cheered as he pushed for accountability for the "Epstein class."
Gubernatorial Race and Internal Divisions
The contest to succeed Newsom loomed large, with convention-goers fretting over a fractured field and no clear frontrunner ahead of the June primary. California's jungle primary system, where the top two vote-getters advance regardless of party, has heightened anxieties that two Republicans could slip through, locking Democrats out of the governor's office in the country's biggest blue state.
DNC chair Ken Martin emphasized the committee's neutrality but urged the party to "unify as quick as possible behind a candidate" in the governor's race, warning against self-sabotage. Recent opinion polls show conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside county sheriff Chad Bianco leading, followed by Democrats like Eric Swalwell, Tom Steyer, and Katie Porter, with many voters still undecided.
In speeches, gubernatorial candidates assailed Trump and pledged to shield Californians from his administration's "chaos" and "cruelty." Porter led delegates in chanting "Fuck Trump!" while Swalwell vowed to keep Trump and ICE out of state affairs. Betty Yee, a candidate, argued that beyond fighting Trump, the state needs a governor with experience to fix chronic budget deficits.
Tech Sector Tensions and Party Soul-Searching
The backdrop of San Francisco highlighted competing impulses over countering the Trump administration and confronting Silicon Valley billionaires, who have forged stronger ties with the president in his second term. The growing divide between Democrats and Silicon Valley is fraught in California, heavily dependent on the tech sector.
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation, warned Democrats to stop "bending the knee" to tech titans who helped put Trump back into power. She stated, "There's an enemy here and it's not just Trump. The reason we're back with Trump again is because we didn't take on the structural issues affecting working-class people."
Internal tug-of-war over winning back power is evident in districts like Randy Villegas's, where a progressive newcomer faces moderate Democrat Jasmeet Bains. Villegas described it as "a fight for the soul of the Democratic party." Outside the convention, activists dressed as sea creatures demanded leaders "grow a spine" to protect trans kids and immigrant families, symbolizing ideological fault lines.
