RandySF
RandySF's JournalCA-GOV: Who's running for California governor? Here's a look at the current field of candidates
The game of musical chairs in the race to be California’s next governor lost another player last week.
After Democratic businessman Stephen Cloobeck — who was polling at below half a percent — dropped out of the race and endorsed Rep. Eric Swalwell on Monday, at least 10 candidates remain.
Voters are hardly to blame if the names don’t ring a bell. Though it’s wound on for more than a year now, the 2026 governor’s race remains unexpectedly wide open. In one poll released last month, 44% of surveyed voters did not have a preference for governor and no candidate polled above 15%.
The primary election is next June. Here’s a look at the field right now:
https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/12/governors-race-current-field/
MI-GOV: Democratic candidates for Michigan governor set to appear for spring forum on gun violence
End Gun Violence Michigan is planning to host its first-ever, nonpartisan gubernatorial candidate forum in May, but at present, only the Democratic Party candidates in the 2026 race responded to the invitation.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, each seeking their party’s nomination for the November 2026 contest, plan to attend the forum. It is being billed as an opportunity for community members to engage directly with gubernatorial candidates ahead of the August 2026 primary.
The aim is to highlight the candidates’ stances on a host of gun violence prevention issues, giving the Democratic candidates a chance to detail their positions on holding the gun industry accountable and protecting democracy.
Questions about suicide prevention, community violence intervention, domestic violence, and protecting schools and children will also be on the menu, which would give the GOP candidates for governor a chance to explore points they’re already talking about on the campaign trail, but in the context of gun violence.
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/12/02/democratic-candidates-for-michigan-governor-set-to-appear-for-spring-forum-on-gun-violence/
New age verification rule causes Pornhub to shut down access in Missouri
ornography sites that wish to operate in Missouri must now verify that users are adults before granting access to explicit content, under a new rule that went into effect Monday.
The change caused the porn industry’s largest website, Pornhub, to block access in Missouri, issuing a statement calling the new rule ineffective and a potential risk to user privacy.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who took over the policy after it was initiated by her predecessor, celebrated the news, calling Pornhub’s decision proof that the rule is needed.
“If a billion-dollar corporation would rather leave Missouri than verify that children are not accessing graphic sexual content,” she said, “that tells you everything you need to know about its priorities.”
https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/new-age-verification-rule-causes-pornhub-to-shut-down-access-in-missouri/
Special election for Lewiston House seat to be held Feb. 24
A special election for the vacated Maine House of Representatives seat representing part of Lewiston will be held on Feb. 24.
Former Rep. Kristen Cloutier resigned on Oct. 31 to take a job as the chief of staff in Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry’s office, leaving the seat for House district 94 open in the middle of the two-year legislative cycle.
It also means the Democrats’ slim majority could be altered. Before Cloutier stepped down, the House had 74 Democrats, 73 Republicans and three unenrolled representatives. Whoever wins the seat will serve the remainder of the term, which ends in December 2026.
Maine’s political parties will caucus to choose candidates for the seat and nominations are due to the Office of the Secretary of State by 5 p.m. on Dec. 17. Cloutier has already thrown her support behind Lewiston City Council member Scott Harriman.
https://mainemorningstar.com/briefs/special-election-for-lewiston-house-seat-to-be-held-feb-24/
Just what Florida needs!
A measure (HB 133) that would lower the age to purchase a long gun in Florida from 21 to 18 years old passed its second and final committee in the state House on Tuesday and will hit the floor when the 2026 session opens, where for the fourth year in a row it is expected to pass in the GOP-controlled chamber.
However, a companion bill in the Senate has yet to have been filed, putting the measure in jeopardy of failure. A similar situation has played out during the past three legislative sessions, with the measure passing the House and dying in the Senate.
The proposal is sponsored by Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Brevard County.
The majority of public speakers who came before the House Judiciary Committee opposed the measure, many of them students who invoked the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. That incident, which killed 17 students and instructors, led to the raising the age to purchase a long gun to 21 as part of a larger comprehensive gun safety package signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
https://floridaphoenix.com/briefs/bill-to-lower-the-age-to-buy-a-long-gun-to-18-now-moves-to-full-house-for-vote/
Former Michigan township clerk and her attorney to stand trial in alleged election voter data breach
Former Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott and her private attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila will stand trial in the 1st Circuit Court in Hillsdale County in an alleged voter data breach during the 2020 presidential election, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday in a press release.
Scott and Lambert Junttila allegedly allowed “unauthorized computer examiner access to voter data, including non-public voter information,” according to Nessel’s office. When the charges were first announced in May 2024, Nessel noted that Scott also allegedly refused to turn over a voting tabulator for maintenance and testing, as well as that Lambert Junttila “illicitly transmitted data from the Adams Township Electronic Poll Book concerning the 2020 General Election under the direction of Scott.”
“The deliberate violation of voter privacy to push a false agenda and spew misinformation is reckless and illegal,” Nessel said in Tuesday’s press release. “My office takes these allegations very seriously and looks forward to further pursuing this case through the judicial process to defend the rights of Michiganders and protect their personal election data.”
Scott and Lambert Junttila are each facing felony charges of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime, Computers – Unauthorized Access, and Conspiracy to Commit the Offense of Computers – Unauthorized Access. Scott also faces a felony charge of Misconduct in Office and a misdemeanor charge of Disobeying a Lawful Instruction or Order of the Secretary of State as Chief Election Officer.
https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/former-michigan-township-clerk-and-her-attorney-to-stand-trial-in-alleged-election-voter-data-breach/
WI-GOV: Democrat Mandela Barnes unveils bid for Wisconsin governor
Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) unveiled his bid for governor on Tuesday, joining a crowded Democratic field looking to succeed retiring Gov. Tony Evers (D) next year.
“Seems like the harder you work, the more Washington looks the other way. Lower taxes for billionaires, higher prices for working people,” Barnes said in his launch ad. “Under Trump, the name of the game has been distraction and chaos to avoid accountability.”
“The only way for our state to move forward is to reject the Washington way and get things done the Wisconsin way,” he added, touching on issues around affordability, fair wages and opportunities for vocational training.
Barnes served as lieutenant governor from 2019-23 under Evers, who announced in July he would not seek a third term. Prior to that, he served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5629434-mandela-barnes-wisconsin-governor/
TN-07: Internal Polls Show Democrat Behind in Tennessee
“To be sure, Democrats are aware they’re still talking about Tennessee. Privately, they’re passing around internal polling that shows them between 7 and 10 points down—losing but maybe possibly within striking distance of a potential upset if lightning strikes.”
https://politicalwire.com/2025/12/02/internal-polls-show-democrat-behind-in-tennessee/
TN-07: GOP Special Election Candidate's Wife Highlighted "Hitler's Wife" Photos
In 2011, Meg Van Epps (née Wrather), wife of GOP special election candidate Matt Van Epps, tweeted a link to a Yahoo News “Upshot” article titled Photos of Hitler’s Wife Stir the Web, writing: “New pictures of Hitler's wife just surfaced. I had never thought about her before or what she must have been like.”
According to the Internet Archive, the article highlighted newly surfaced Life Magazine photos from Eva Braun’s personal album, including one with Adolf Hitler and another showing Braun in blackface dressed as Al Jolson.
The piece outlined Braun’s work and her relationship with Hitler, “a rising star in the Nazi party,” her suicide attempts, and her death alongside him in 1945.
The tweet that appears to ponder what Hitler’s wife was like was shared in 2011. Meg Van Epps profile that shared it shows no activity after 2014. A message in the account’s bio suggests the account was abandoned that year.
https://meidasnews.com/news/gop-special-election-candidates-wife-highlighted-hitlers-wife-photos
How St. Paul's Mayor Lost a 'Safe' Re-election Bid
Until the final weeks of the campaign, Mayor Melvin Carter’s third election as St. Paul mayor seemed assured.
He had plenty of money and the endorsements of both of Minnesota’s U.S. senators and Gov. Tim Walz. Even without much campaigning in the spring and summer, he wielded the advantages of an incumbent, with the mayor using the office to cast himself as a foil to the Trump administration and a leader on gun control in Minnesota.
And he had made his first two runs for the office look easy.
Today, Carter finds himself about to be out of a job after losing his reelection bid to a former staffer, Kaohly Her, a stunning result that will usher in the city’s first Hmong American mayor.
https://www.governing.com/politics/how-st-pauls-mayor-lost-a-safe-re-election-bid
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
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