The Americanist – Why Democrats Fear Losing California

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With a population of over 40 million people and home to some of the world’s most powerful technology companies, it is the world’s fourth largest economy. So why aren’t the big names in the Democratic Party lining up for a chance to run California? Voting has begun in the primary to decide who will run to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom. Democratic front-runner Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race amid sexual misconduct allegations, and a blockbuster candidate like Kamala Harris left Democratic voters in a crowded and unsettled field. In this episode, Sarah, Anthony, and Justin discuss why California is hard to govern and assess the risk of losing the state to Democrats. Also, who are the British-born Republicans who are endorsed by Trump and who have a chance of getting into the November election? We also heard from Democrat California royals, Christine Pelosi, a longtime Democratic strategist who is now running for California state senate, and of course her daughter, Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the House of Representatives. Hosts: • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Justin Webb, Radio 4 Presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent Contact: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note on WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 Email America The episode by George Dauk. Tom Gillett, Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Johnny Hall. The serial producer is Purvi Patni. The news editor is Sam Bonham. If you would like to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to BBC Sounds by tapping the subscribe button on the app. Now you can listen to Americast on your smart speaker. If you want to listen, say “BBC Sounds to play Americast”. Works on most modern speakers. US Election Unsolved: Subscribe to Anthony’s BBC Newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155 Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes several other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you’re reading this, you do), then we think you’ll enjoy some of our pods. Check out the link below. News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd

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