Inside Golden State Politics

Will Democratic Socialists Seize The Political Steering Wheel?

• Nancy Boyarsky

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0:00 | 36:22

We discuss the impact of the left- leaning Democratic Socialists on national and local elections.  We advise candidates to do opposition research on themselves before jumping into the fray.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Welcome to another episode of Inside Golden State Politics. I'm Bill Boyarsky, former city editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and with me is our producer director, Nancy Boyarsky

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

And I'm Sheri Bebitch Jeffe, political analyst and self-styled media maven, coming to you from the summer doldrums with a little nudge from Graham Platner, but accented mercifully by the failed not-so-great Great American State Fair, which languished on the National Mall, and of course, by the USA's embarrassing exit from World Cup competition. I don't know about you, but the major lesson I took away from the nation's birthday was, as MS now host Rachel Maddow put it, sorta, "Everything Donald Trump touches turns to not gold," end quote. And in the Golden State, California politics appear to be snoozing right along with the season, for about a minute and a half by World Cup enthusiasm. I am about to demand that the candidates for governor and for LA mayor in November's elections have their photographs posted on milk cartons. The candidates, the media, and the voters need to get hustling in the almost four months before we vote again. Kick those doldrums. Get focused, get engaged, and do it before Labor Day these so far nearly invisible campaigns into high political gear. The stakes are too high settle for not gold. Over to you, Bill

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

I think that this election will always be noted f- for the Platner rule.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

The whom? The pri--

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Pla- Graham Platner, the erstwhile candidate for Senate in Maine, and the rule is a simple one, but nobody seems to follow it. Tell the truth. Don't hide things. If you have any skeletons in your closet, save them for Halloween. Don't let somebody drag them out especially toward the end of your campaign. I watched his s- apology... Wasn't an apology. I watched

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

he didn't say,

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

his... I watched his note of defiance the other night. As a man with no repentance he'll always be remembered in the annals of Democratic politics. We have a good guest t- tonight, and our guest is John Regardi. John is a prolific and talented and respected political writer in, in Los Angeles and elsewhere. He writes for the Eastsider, the Westside Current, the Hollywood Reporter, the LA Times, Los Angeles Magazine, and

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Can't get a real job

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

John. They're all really good publications, and it's it's good to plug them and to plug you for this show. We got two things on our minds now. We have the the Graham Platner el foldo, and then we have the city election for mayor of Los Angeles, which is tremendously important. What's your feeling about what the Platner collapse does to the Democratic hopes of winning the Senate?

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

First off, Bill thank you for that generous introduction. Bill and Sherry, thank you both for having me. It's always a blast to chop it up with you guys.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

fun. Yes

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Love the podcast. I'm available anytime, so if, th- thank you for that, for having me back. And yeah, Bill, it's really interesting. Obviously, we've all been looking at this. We're all wondering, what does this do to these to, to the Senate hopes for the Democrats? Obviously, they need to win four seats in November, but they also have to defend three seats. And, I'm just wondering if perhaps the Democrats have gotten, even without this, even a little a- ahead of themselves. This is not an easy task. I'm almost gonna put it in the equivalent to, Sherry, what you just mentioned. Let's think of this in World Cup terms. The US was up against Belgium. There were a lot of people saying, "Oh, US has a great chance at winning this." Some, sure, they've worked really hard. They were great in the group stages. Impressive first-round win in the knockout stages. They can do this. What happened? They got against a heavy foe, just got decimated. Now, I'm wondering if that's, if we're l- if we're looking at something equivalent here. The Democrats are hoping that every single thing goes right, including whoever replaces Platner in Maine. And is that just too much of a hope for every single domino to fall in the right way? I don't know the answer, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

it's, it would be the greatest of all hopes if that happens. By by pulling out as he's doing now he's leaving the field wide open for a big scramble among Democrats in Maine to run against a person who has to be the luckiest person of the year in politics, Senator Collins, Susan Collins.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

I have to

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

She's gotta be... there was a w- there was a person who was headed for defeat.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Maybe.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

no chance, and all of a sudden, all of a sudden who- the Lord or whoever came down and handed her this chance to win another term. I... And with it I think the hopes of the Democrats of winning the Senate really went downhill. That's... and why that

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

it

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

happened, I don't know. You get into this whole thing. Sherri, you've, you know a lot about it, vetting candidates, checking up.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Yeah.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

You

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

And it sometimes doesn't happen or doesn't happen well. And we were talking about this, Bill one of the really nasty outcomes of slack in vetting occurred in 1972 when Senator Eagleton was supposed to go into the, It's John Edward... Senator Eagleton was supposed to get into the the fight as George McGovern's vice presidential candidate, and it was Gary Hart Frank Mankiewicz who were vetting in South Dakota the pro- the candidate. They were doing it by telephone, and they were watching their watches because they wanted to leave so badly after, "I go on vacation." And they never really got into the fact that Eagleton did have electroshock therapy. And they just said is there anything we should know?" And he said, "No." And that was that. And we all know how that turned out. That was Sargent Shriver's 15 minutes of fame. And interestingly,, how did they replace Eagleton? The Democratic National Committee did the voting, and that's one of the things they're complaining about now in Maine. We don't want 500 or 600 people to decide who's going to be the nominee when over, what was it, over 80,000 chose Platner. And then I n- I personally know a little discussed problem that occurred in 1984 when, The Walter Mondale campaign sent one guy out to vet Dianne Feinstein and one guy out to vet Geraldine Ferraro. The guy who vetted Feinstein just dug and dug and looked into her husband's business connections, et cetera. It was a couple of little questions. The guy who was to have done Ferraro walked in walked out and never discovered the potential conflicts that would have occurred with Ferraro's husband, which, of course, came to light that ill-fated campaign for president. And I'm sure that there are several, at least several other incidents quite like that. You've got to be nuts not to basically do opposition on yourself as the candidate and as the campaign. And apparently, nobody asked Graham something we should know about, or even if they didn't push it, didn't get the right answer. It's

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

we've obviously s- seen that right here in California as well just a few months ago. Remember when we all thought that Eric Swalwell was

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

could I forget Rick Swalwell? It's been... Dear God, that's even in the Golden State it happens. Thank you, John. I guess I put up a wall in my mind against anybody here

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

this,

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

for doing nothing un- unconscionable. Now you may talk, Mr. Boyarski.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Mike

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

to wait until I'm finished, okay?

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

No.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Yes, John

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

I think that what in

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Go

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the background

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

get

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of this whole

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

'em

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Senate mess in Maine is the fact that Platner represented the far left of the party. He was pushed out that means that the far left of the Democratic Party, the Democratic Socialists of America wing, which is getting stronger,

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Indeed I say

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Is getting stronger and has more to say and this is gonna end up with one of these political feuds that never end. People who are still angry because Bernie Sanders didn't get the nomination, several years ago. And those scars I think are really gonna be hard to overcome the Democratic Socialists of America situation

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

What do you mean? to overcome

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Hard to overcome for the Democrats, certainly. Yeah.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

They won't win? They're winning. I don't think it's so much progressive or left-wing versus establishment. It really, it goes beyond that kind of label. I think people are ready to look at anybody but incumbents. There's no trust left, it appears to me, in terms of what people are now talking as, a government of elders, if you will. A of reasons that the Democratic socialists might win or might not win, and it depends, of course, on candidates. It depends on the economy more than anything else. It depends on how much money is available and what the message is. I don't think we can rule out anything in today's political environment. What do you think, John?

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

I think, I think you're referencing things that we're seeing in, w- what we're talking about is the same sort of situation happening in multiple places. Let's just look at the, at the New York primaries recently. M- multiple candidates who were championed by Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist of America mayor of New York. He pushed three hard left progressive candidates who beat more centrist candidates in congressional primaries and who are thus likely to become members of the House of Representatives after the November election. So we're seeing that. We've seen references in races in Michigan. You've just referenced Maine. I know eventually we're gonna get to Los Angeles, which is

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

yes, sir

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

the really big wave of this. So we're seeing things and Sherry, I think you're referencing something that's right on. There is definitely an anti-incumbent feel at this time. And I would also say, and I know it's the cliché buzzword of 2026, but it also ties into and the price of everything from going out to dinner, to groceries, to filling up your gas tank, to obviously the rent is too darn high. The question of, for so many younger people of will they ever be able to afford a house in whatever city they wanna live in? All of this has so many, particularly younger people, looking for an alternative, and they are finding it in, in many instances in these progressive, super progressive DSA, whatever you wanna call them, candidates. And this is a wave that I think is going to be continuing for a while. We are not at the top of this cycle yet

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

when you look at the voting returns after the primary election the DSA candidate Rahman who finished second to Mayor Bass her constituency really follows the renter trail or the young trail or the the grouping of people who are just like the ones you talked about, John who work here, can't afford a home want some relief. And she's speaking to those people

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

yes, absolute, absolutely. One... Look, one of, one of her biggest pushes on the campaign trail, and I've spoken with people within city, within City Hall who give her a lot of credit for helping lead to laws that, limited rent hikes in the city of Los Angeles. It was, the in rent-controlled units, it was moved down from, from where it had historically been. So she's definitely ti- you know, tied in with that. But, just one thing as well that I would also think is, is important to mention, Bill, is, yes, Nithya Raman is to the left of Mayor Karen Bass. Yes, Nithya Raman in her victorious council elections in 2020 and 2024, she was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. In this past, in the June primary, she was recommended by the DSA, but she was not formally endorsed by the DSA, and she has also drifted more towards the center, more towards the mo- realm from where she was in the past. As we know, many of the hardcore progressive DSA types want police if not defunded, then the number of officers trimmed way down. Nithya Raman has now come to the point that she says she wants to hold at the current level of about 8,500 officers. So she is not as far left as some of her council DSA-backed colleagues are. She's definitely moved toward the center as she has been running, for, for this seat against Mayor Karen Bass.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

don't forget, a couple of things I wanna add to what you've just said. Number one the other three Socialist-backed city council members endorsed Karen Bass

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Absolutely

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

primary. Number two, I think it's quite ironic that she still is positioning herself as an outsider when she's actually been a city hall insider longer than Karen Bass has. Rahman was elected in 2020, Karen Bass was elected in 2022. It just doesn't, it doesn't make sense. And do remember that if you're only recommended by the DSA, do not get the resources, the money, the f- the people power that would come with a formal endorsement. It's not gonna be that simple for her

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

No, but y- Sherry you're one- you're 100% correct there that, the boots on the ground a- as it were, that, that the DSA can provide when they're backing candidates can be extremely powerful, as we've see- as we've seen in some council races. And, yeah, and I would just actually piggyback on one of your points real quickly, because one of the other key issues in this race is obviously the state of homelessness and Mayor Karen Bass.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Correct

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Not only has she said, as she said to your point, that Nithya Raman has been in city government longer than Karen Bass has, but she's been the chair of the Homelessness and Housing Committee. So she's, nithya Raman is trying to position herself as a change agent. And Karen Bass is sa- is countering with you've had six years to effect change."

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Exactly

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

both really going at it

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

So you know what that tells me? Hone the message, and it's gonna be very difficult for Rahman to get the kind of money to get out there and spread herself beyond her district. She's not gonna have enough money, I think, at this point in time to make it easy for her to position herself as the antidote to Karen Bass.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Bass has really cut off the Ramon s- source of funding with her backing by the city water unions and sort of other establishment types. She's positioned herself as the moderate in this race and there's gonna be a lot of issues though that are gonna come up and I was just... When we were talking, I was just thinking of one that's gonna be really hot button and that's the housing issue. Is Ramon gonna support construction of high-rise apartment houses around all of the Metro stops or Is she gonna oppose that? Bass has been positioning herself somewhat as the friend of the homeowner and the these homeowner groups who are opposed to that sort of high-rise construction around the transit stops and that because it hits so close to people's guts is gonna be a big issue in this election and it'll come-

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Yeah, but do you really think that the people you're describing, which I think, and I'd love to have you correct me please, John are not those people who are immediately attracted to Raman? They aren't the hard left. They're the people with They're looking... the people on the left side are gonna scream and yell, but are they gonna vote for Nithya Raman? What do you think, John?

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Look there's so many unanswered questions, Bill. I think you're absolutely right that, that, that housing and housing production is a major issue a, in this race. And look, both candidates are going to be trying to pitch themselves as the ones who can get housing production unstuck in Los Angeles. Mayor Karen Bass talks about it frequently, and I actually know a number of, development types who actually look at Nithya Raman and say, "You know what? She's actually done some very important things to try to get housing done." I've spoken with some developers who say that Nithya Raman has actually looked down towards San Diego, where they've been more successful at building multifamily, apartment projects. And she's been talking about m- you know, the successes there and trying to incorporate them into Los Angeles. And then there is a big difference between what you just referenced, Bill. I think there's a number of people who may be in favor of large housing projects around the metro transit stops, but where they don't want them is in the single-family neighborhoods.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Exactly

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

so again it's gonna be this sort of balance of, of who can get there. But look, again, there's so many other elements on the table, so many questions. Obviously, in the last round, we had Spencer Pratt in this race, and he got 25% of the vote and 219,000. So many people are asking, where are the Spencer Pratt voters going to go this time? On one hand you would s- you, you would think that, gosh, with all of his lambasting of Mayor Karen Bass, there's no way they'll vote for, they'll vote for her. But on the other hand, you look at, the, the Spencer Pratt voters who are more conservative, more to the right, there's no way they're gonna vote for a progressive DSA-affiliated candidate such as Nithya Raman.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

not, not since Brad has spent a couple of touch-and-go hours with the president in the Oval Office. Boy, boy. If I were, if I were the opposition Brad, I would certainly do something with that photo op,

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

he's...

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Oh, and and look, and Mayor Karen Bass, as we know, was hoping she'd be running against him, but she's not. So it's,

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

question

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

so the, so this is one of many just big questions as we as we move forward, for these four months, and I don't think we know what, where th- where things are gonna come out at this point. I think it's really too early

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

It's too early because we also don't know what kind of a candidate Rhamond will be out on the stump. And

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

pretty white anyway

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

I think that is important how you present yourself, how you speak, how you appear on television how you're quoted in the in the media. That whole thing adds up to a picture of you. And people do not know Rhamond. They do not know her at all. They know she represented one of 15 council districts, and that's all they know. So she's gotta start from really the bottom and work her way up. Now, she did very well against Mayor Bass, and Mayor Bass, it should be remembered, did not do very well as a candidate for re-election. She got... What did she get? 34% of the vote

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Ma-- yeah, Karen Bass was at 34.3%, Nithya Ramam is at 29,000.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Thir-

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

29%,

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

34, 44% is rather low for a incumbent mayor.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

the lowest though. It's not the lowest. Jimmy Hahn got 23% in the primary and then was up against Antonio Villaraigosa. Jimmy Hahn was an incumbent when this happened, and he lost to Villaraigosa. So John is right. Whatever we look at doesn't mean anything at this point in time. It's, it's a blank canvas

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Yeah, a- and Sherry, what you s- what you say there is so key, and it's one of the points that I always try to, d- you know, tr- try to reference when I'm talking, elections. As we've seen before, between a primary and a general election, five months in this case, the world can flip upside down. And the general, the-- and the general election audi- the general election turnout is going to be bigger than the primary turnout was. It's many... It's gonna be hundreds of thousands of other voters, hundreds of thousands of people who didn't cast a ballot last time are going to be out there. And in particular, with a gubernatorial race and an anti-Trump sentiment in California, it's going to draw a lot of, a lot more Democrats to the polls. So again, as...

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

It does.

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Yeah, and so Bill as you referenced, but, both Nithya Raman and Karen Bass are gonna be figuring out, "How do we woo those people? How do we convince those individuals that we are the right one?" I've heard experts say that absolutely Karen Bass will win. I've heard experts say that after the public's made up their mind on Karen Bass, and she is not going to win. So I, I don't know, man

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

what the prediction markets say today, since they are the new gods of prediction in the electoral system of the United States. Accor- according to Polymarket, in the LA mayor's race, has a 61% chance of winning. Raman, and that's up 13%, Raman has a 39.3% chance of winning, up 7%. And Kalshi, and this is what I find so fa- fascinating because they're both really close, has Bass at 63%, up 1%, at 37% and steady. we go. No... this point, I'm the only one who is confident enough to give what looks to be a fairly decent prediction or the prediction markets, at least they're not shying away making predictions. But look what happened, and this is a question I want to ask you guys. Look what happened in Boyle Heights talking about something that we don't know will happen that might happen. The fire the aftermath of the warehouse, the frozen food warehouse fire and the neighborhood will never be the same again, and it's bringing up comparisons to and echoes of the Pacific Palisades fire, which I believe was the start the earth moving beyond Karen Bass. knows what's gonna happen? that's something she certainly would not have ordered up by her own de- wanting have a huge fire and anger another neighborhood Like

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

As she goes into this difficult period in her career, and the fact is she hasn't demonstrated what you'd call a command personality. A take charge kind of way about her. I think this would be offensive to her, but a Riordan-like quality where where he, in moments of crisis, just went in there and took charge and ordered the bureaucrats around, was not a bureaucrat himself, was anti-bureaucrat, and came out of it as a as a fairly respected mayor. Largely though because of his personality and his style. And she does not have that and hasn't demonstrated it yet. There's, what, three or four months to go and we can't write her off, but it's certainly something she has to work on

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Yeah, let me just reference there and, and o-o-on one part I think you're absolutely 100% correct. She was criticized significantly, including by myself and many others, for a lack of leadership during the fires. But I also think that we cannot ignore that when the ICE raids began in Los Angeles in June of 2025, Karen Bass was front and center as the p- as the person, as the face of the resistance, the person really trying to defend her city. And I and others, I think, have given her a lot of credit. She was the one who went on TV repeatedly and said, "See what's happening in Los Angeles? We're going to be a test case for other cities across the country." And indeed, exactly what we saw in LA came in other cities. So I do think that as poorly as she performed during the fires, which could be her, undoing in the second election, a lot of people also say that she should be, in some ways, thankful to Donald Trump for giving her a chance to reb- to rebound and to respond because she is now, from political strategists I've spoken to, they say the best thing a Democrat can be in this election is a foil to Donald Trump, and she has proved herself as that in the response, to these ICE raids. So it's something that that I think that we do have to mention as well when looking at the overall complicated scope of Mayor Karen Bass.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

LA's own Gavin Newsom. And I wanna bring up one thing when we're talking about her leadership style. Remember where she started and what her leadership philosophy is, and quite frankly, it is the feminist alternative to high pyramid, the autocratic, shall we say, or at least style of leadership, which tends to be more about male leadership. do a more collaborative style of leadership, and it's not axiomatically bad. Obviously, it may not be axiomatically good It's a choice, and it's a choice that she made. sometimes, as you noted, John, it works. Sometimes, I guess you need to bang heads. But Karen Bass was... didn't come from that school of political theory.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

A woman who did come from the

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Could I finish, please?

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Oh

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Oh, come on, Phil, listen to me, and then let me finish, but go right ahead.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

no, go ahead.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

I don't...

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

I'm sure what

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

I

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

had to say

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

care

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

was more important than what I had to say, even though

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

What I guess what I'm saying is it's the result, not the method. If the method leads to success, it's a success. the method doesn't work, then yeah, she has to think of maybe leaving that path of cooperation, coordination, which basically is somewhat of a feminist model, out those spendors moving out hard and heavy. We'll see

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

There was a woman candidate who had considerable success doing it differently. And her name was Dianne Feinstein, and she was a county supervisor in San Francisco. And she became mayor when the mayor was when... and be- through assassination and tragedy. And she continued on and became a rather distinguished senator. Now, she came from the hard knocks school of San Francisco politics. You can't be nice and be a success in San Francisco. You can't be collaborative and hug everybody and and do all that. You have to be a killer to succeed in San Francisco politics, and she did that. And so if Bass was looking for a role model I would say that Senator Feinstein would be a very good example

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Honey, is not San Francisco, culturally or politically. That's the way it goes. Yes, John? You're way Ear to ear.

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

yeah, no, look, yeah I'm not, I'm not sure that Bass at her age wants or needs a role model.

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Exactly

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

but, but look, again, all the point, all the points are correct. One thing that I would like to mention, which, which takes this, you know, in a slightly, d- different angle, but, but does reflect where we came with at, at the beginning, is a piece I wrote recently for the publication Golden State Report. I started to look at, we- we're talking a lot about DSA candidates versus centrist candidates, and something that I think many people overlook is just how fractured Los Angeles, has become. If we go back again to these June primaries, I live over on the east side. I happen to live in Council District 1. And in Council District 1, one of the most progressive candidates, Eunisses Hernandez, she was being challenged by four other more centrist candidates. She won going away with 58% of the vote. District 13, also over here, Hugo Soto-Martinez, another progressive candidate being challenged by three centrists. He won with 68.4%, just destroyed the competition. But then we go over to the west side of LA, Council District 11, where Traci Park, a much more centrist mainstream Democrat, she was being challenged by a DSA candidate. Traci Park just destroys her opponent, Faiza Malik. Traci Park gets 60.2% of the vote. So all across Los Angeles, we're seeing these wildly different divergent results with the same set of candidates. I'm not quite sure what it means, if anything. I'm not sure how it play-- what it means as the November election comes around, but I just think it's so interesting just how fractured Los Angeles seems to be politically

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

There are other factors involved this, John. The city council members that you mentioned all incumbents, which

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Correct

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

but in their case, they're all incumbents that, produced, who were out there. Tracy Park became the face of the reactions to the Pacific Palisades fire. So it's, it-- you're right, I think. I read your piece, and you are right in saying that we, that LA is a fractured city the people in one g- and it's fractured geographically, which I thought was extremely interesting and in addition to which it's been s- fractured somewhat ideologically. But don't forget that. It's not sim- it's not as simple

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Great point

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

you're winning, you're losing, that kind of thing. It's a it's a really crazy political time is what I think we can make from this.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Yeah, it is. John, do you think it's a sign of permanent change in Los Angeles? Is Los Angeles moving to the left firmly?

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Yeah. It's a ch- it's a change. Is it permanent? I, I don't know. What I will just say is, this is something, people have been point- people have been looking at, at New York and Zohra Mondani and saying, "Is what happened in New York going to, now influence what happens in Los Angeles?" We actually have to remember, I think it's more that it's Los Angeles which has influenced New York. Going back to 2020 when Nithya Raman first ran for city council she was running against a more centrist candidate, but who also billed himself as progressive, David Ryu. Nithya Raman won that race. I did a big article at that time, and I titled the piece Left and Lefter, and I said that this could be a precursor of things to come. And now we've seen, as has been referenced in this conversation, three other Democratic socialists have won seats on the council. We have a very, left-leaning s- city controller now running as well for city attorney. We have a DSA-backed candidate in Marissa Roy going against a much more centrist candidate in John McKinney. I think that one's gonna be a sort of bellwether for where, where things are in terms of politically. Are we at the peak? Will it continue? I'm honestly, not sure, but I do think that this is that this seismic change that we've seen in Los Angeles is continuing. And just by the way, real quickly, it also ties in to when we shifted our votes from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years. When we switched from... when we c- when we came to-- When we switched to even-numbered years in 2020 and the city aligned its votes with state and federal elections, turnout just absolutely spiked. In some council districts, we've seen four or five times as many people voting as in the past, and many of these new voters are younger voters, as we've referenced before. They are renters. They may be first-time voters. And the DSA has been extraordinarily adept at organizing these people, convincing them their voice matters. And so look, maybe in some ways, this is a much more representative voting sample than we've had in the past. And again, where does it go? I'm not sure

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

John, thank you very much for being our guest today. Really appreciate it.

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Bill, Shari, it is always a pleasure to be with you. Thank you guys so much for having me

squadcaster-2h45_2_07-09-2026_150422

Anytime. Very often. Cheers everyone.

host-4ha0_2_07-09-2026_150423

Bye-bye

jon-regardie_2_07-09-2026_150422

Bye-bye