California, which Hillary Clinton won by nearly four million votes in 2016, has become ground zero for the burgeoning “resistance” movement against President Donald Trump.
The state’s political leaders have openly clashed with the Trump administration on issues far and wide, including border security, the travel ban, vehicle emission standards, and the decennial census, to name a few. Yet one Democrat appears to be actively courting Republican voters in his bid to become governor of California.
On paper, Antonio Villaraigosa seems like an unlikely choice for California’s shrinking GOP electorate to rally around. A former speaker of the California State Assembly and mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa got his start in politics as a union organizer. In 1994, as a newly minted state legislator, he cut a progressive profile by championing legislation to raise income taxes on California’s highest earners and expand access to health care. As mayor, Villaraigosa trumpeted gun-control measures and promoted tax increases to pay for expanding Los Angeles’s transportation infrastructure.
It looks likely, however, that the California Republican Party will be locked out of this fall’s general election for the state’s top political office.
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