Ouch… pic.twitter.com/F9ycD4gdhV
— @amuse (@amuse) November 8, 2024
Tuesday’s elections in California will have been difficult for Democrats to stomach. A staggering 40% of Californians voted for Donald Trump, with Republicans leading in several of the most competitive house districts. Even in San Francisco, the uber-progressive mayor London Breed has been voted out. No wonder, then, that Governor Gavin Newsom has already called for a special session in the legislature to “Trump-proof” certain policies such as abortion and immigration.
On the same day, California voters also endorsed a significant shift toward stricter law-enforcement measures, with 71% approving Proposition 36, a statewide ballot initiative aimed at imposing harsher penalties for repeat theft and crimes involving fentanyl. In doing so, they effectively rolled back some of the state’s more controversial “soft-on-crime” policies.
Proposition 36 was a response to Proposition 47, a 2014 reform designed to alleviate overcrowded prisons by reclassifying certain non-violent crimes, such as drug offences and thefts under $950, from felonies to misdemeanours. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a principal architect of Proposition 47 and a progressive figure supported by billionaire George Soros, has now lost a re-election bid to Independent challenger Nathan Hochman.
https://unherd.com/newsroom/is-california-turning-red/