CalMatters49%
How Carl DeMaio is pushing the GOP to give up on CA moderates 32%
By Lynn La43%
8/5/2026, 6:00:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 18 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Ambiguity (Equivocation), and Confirmation Bias, with Attempt to Sell a Product or Service as the most egregious example at 15.2% saturation with 165 hits. Analysis detected 1,030 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,086 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 34.3% and a BS Rank of 32% (19,876 of 28,882 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 68.80% of the article peer group.
Assemblymember Carl DeMaio during a press conference at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Aug.
18, 2025.
Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
California Republicans have a choice in their quest to snap a 20-year losing streak in statewide elections: Moderate their positions on certain issues to appeal to more voters, or lean further to the right to rile up support from the base.
Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, the San Diego Republican with a YouTube channel and his own political movement, is going for the latter .
As CalMatters’ Nadia Lathan explains, DeMaio — whose combative style has earned him a reputation of being a divisive lawmaker — drew ire from his fellow GOP colleagues during the June primary after his Reform California advocated for different candidates than the California Republican Party.
Party officials sent DeMaio a cease-and-desist letter, accusing him of co-opting the GOP’s branding.
But in the end, it didn’t matter: Several of his candidates for the Legislature beat establishment Republican picks in the San Diego area, as well as one in the Central Valley.
In the race for San Diego’s Senate District 40, DeMaio backed Kristie Bruce-Lane, who he characterized as a “fighter,” and someone who could exchange blows with Democratic lawmakers.
Bruce-Lane’s campaign raised about $250,000 with the help of DeMaio’s Reform Local Government PAC.
Her opponent, San Marcos City Councilmember Ed Musgrove, raised $2 million.
The longtime local official with a low-key demeanor also earned the endorsement of well-known Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones and outgoing U.S.
Rep.
Darrell Issa.
Bruce-Lane won.
She will face former Democratic San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott in November.
Elsewhere around the Capitol: California Democrats are deeply divided over the proposed billionaire tax.
The California Democratic Party last week officially endorsed the measure after a contentious vote, despite Gov.
Gavin Newsom and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra publicly opposing Proposition 40.
Read more from CalMatters’ Maya C.
Miller and Jeanne Kuang.
CalMatters events: Join us today in Riverside for a free conversation about how California will educate its future workforce.
CalMatters’ Adam Echelman will moderate a discussion with health, education and workforce leaders.
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CA batting .800 in Trump lawsuits
Attorney General Rob Bonta at the Ronald Reagan State Building in Los Angeles on May 14, 2026.
Photo by Christina House, Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
When President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, California lawmakers quickly allocated $25 million to fund anticipated legal battles against his administration.
On Tuesday — 18 months into Trump’s second term — California Attorney General Rob Bonta gave a status update : After suing the Trump administration dozens of times, the state has protected $207 billion in funding that Trump has tried to withhold from California.
Of the 79 lawsuits California brought against Trump through July 30, the state secured 21 final orders and 45 orders granting early relief in its favor.
In another eight cases, the Trump administration withdrew its efforts to fight the lawsuit.
The money that Trump attempted to take away spanned a variety of funds that went toward schools, food benefits, public safety, climate projects and other programs.
Bonta: “If I was the Trump administration and I’m losing 83% of the time when I take actions that are unlawful and when I’m challenged by attorneys general, I’d be embarrassed.
I’d be humiliated.
I would stop being unlawful.
But Trump shows no sign of slowing down.”
Bonta estimates that the state’s Department of Justice has spent as much as $29 million so far fighting Trump in court: Roughly $19.2 million of which came from the special fund set up in 2025, and the rest coming from the general fund specifically appropriated for “federal accountability work” in the regular state budget process.
Worry over Trump changes to Head Start
Preschoolers line up at the Ralph Hawley Head Start Center in Emeryville on Dec.
9, 2024.
Photo by Florence Middleton for CalMatters
The Trump administration appears poised to overhaul Head Start in a way that critics warn could lower the program’s standards, including at more than 1,800 sites in California, writes CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones.
The federal government said it plans to “significantly reduce regulatory requirements” for the early childhood education program.
Though the administration did not provide details, some reports say the move could affect the 70,000 California kids enrolled in Head Start by changing the program’s low student-to-teacher ratios, minimum teacher qualifications and stipulations that Head Start accept income-eligible children regardless of whether they’re disabled or if their parents are citizens.
Melanee Cottrill , executive director of Head Start California: “Head Start will still exist, but it will be very different from what it is today.”
And lastly: Colorado River plan leaves states guessing
A bleached “bathtub ring” is visible on the banks of Lake Powell in Page, Arizona on July 30, 2026.
Photo by Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
The U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation last week released a 10-year framework that establishes rough parameters for managing the Colorado River.
Though its provisions include an estimated 10% cut to California’s supply through 2028, officials are still left uncertain about the future since the framework imposes no specific long-term plan.
Read more from CalMatters’ Rachel Becker.
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Sacramento City Unified School District and Los Angeles Unified’s budget woes, which stem from a chronic tendency to overspend revenues, are exacerbated by the state’s own irresponsible fiscal games .
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