Democrats in California Governor’s Race Compete to Be the Most Anti-Trump

The so-called “resistance” to Trump continues to define Democratic Party politics across the nation, as California’s four Democratic candidates for governor in 2018 competed to show off their anti-Trump credentials at a debate in San Francisco.

The debate was the second of the contest, after a debate Sunday in Anaheim in which the four candidates — Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villraigosa, State Treasurer John Chiang, and former Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin — differed on little except whether single-payer health care could be passed without funding.

On this occasion, according to the San Jose Mercury News, the candidates also differed on whether California should allow more charter schools. The issue has been dividing Democrats for several years, leading to bitter battles in state and local races for education offices. Only Villaraigosa seems to have taken a firm position on expanding charter schools. “Eastin supports a moratorium on charters, and Newsom — who has been endorsed by California Teachers Association — called for hiring more teachers, while … Chiang called for more accountability,” the Mercury News noted.

All four candidates also reportedly supported the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which Newsom once opposed until reversing himself last year.

And Donald Trump, who was rarely mentioned in the first debate, was a focus of the second. Politico described the debate as a contest “to seize the anti-Trump mantle,” as candidates praised the state’s efforts to pass legislation in defiance of the Trump administration, such as an extension of the cap-and-trade system and a “sanctuary state” law limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.