Poll shows Joe Biden with double-digit lead over Donald Trump in California
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MAJORITY OF CALIFORNIANS SUPPORT BIDEN, SCHIFF
Likely California voters are ready to re-elect President Joe Biden to a second term, according to the latest survey from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.
The survey, conducted May 23 to June 2, found that 55% support Biden, while 31% back former President Donald Trump. This survey was conducted before a New York jury convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, so it doesn’t reflect any possible change in support that the former president may have incurred as a result.
Californians are also bullish on Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, in his contest with Republican Steve Garvey to be the next senator from California. Schiff leads Garvey 62%-37%.
Californians also weighed in on the state’s budget situation, where lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom are grappling with a massive deficit.
California’s budget situation is a “big problem,” according to 42% of Californians, and 54% say that the governor’s “May Revise” proposal is a good plan.
More than a third (36%) of Californians believe that cost of living and inflation are a top issue affecting the state. Other issues that received double digit support included housing costs and availability (19%) and homelessness (13%).
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS RESPOND TO SUPREME COURT BUMP-STOCK DECISION
California Democratic politicians were quick to condemn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling overturning the federal regulation banning firearm bump stocks, which can be used to make weapons capable of automatic fire.
The decision comes nearly seven years after a gunman used a bump stock-equipped rifle to kill dozens of people at a Las Vegas music festival.
“90 SHOTS IN 10 SECONDS. This decision will put blood on our streets. That blood will be on the hands of every Republican in Congress who has refused to enact common sense reforms,” Newsom wrote in a post on X.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta noted that bump stocks remain illegal in California, but like Newsom called on Congress to take action on a federal ban.
“Sixty people were killed and 500 wounded at a music festival in Las Vegas where the shooter used semi-automatic rifles equipped with bump stock devices,” Bonta said in a statement. “This should not be allowed. It is time for Congress to act quickly.”
California Sen. Alex Padilla wrote in a post on X that “Today’s misguided SCOTUS decision endangers lives. Congress must unite to enact a permanent ban on bump stocks.”
Schiff, who hopes to join Padilla in the Senate this November, wrote in a post on X, “More lives will be lost. Senselessly. Shamefully. Because of this reactionary Supreme Court and its partisan agenda, and the Republican party’s deadly obedience to the gun lobby.”
Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, wrote in a post on X that “Bump stocks were designed for mass killing — and they have no place on our streets. By reversing the ban on these deadly devices, the Supreme Court ruled to make our neighborhoods less safe. Democrats will never rest until the job is done to stop the scourge of gun violence.”
In the State Senate, both Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, both weighed in on the decision as well.
“Another preposterous ruling on firearms from the Supreme Court today – this time blocking the federal ban on bump stocks.In California — we’ve banned them. And it’s saved lives. This ruling puts countless kids, families, and our communities in danger,” McGuire wrote in a post on X.
Portantino wrote in a post on X that Thursday’s decision was “another reason why who sits on the Supreme Court matters. This is a horrendous decision.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Extremist politicians are using misinformation to build support for banning contraceptives. I led the effort to enshrine the right to contraception in the CA Constitution — because I knew it would not stop with #RoeVWade. We cannot back down from this fight.”
- Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, via X.
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