Changes in California
The election is a watershed that opens a new chapter for our state
For California, this election cycle was one of the most significant ones in recent decades. At the polls, voters set new paths for our state.
Election results reflected demographic trends of an electorate with more minorities, younger and more liberal. At the same time, they were a catastrophe for Republicans, whose influence continued diminishing, heading toward irrelevance.
This election showed a mature electorate that approved tax increases in both Propositions 30 and 39. With this support, Californians are showing a new attitude, a willingness to contribute more of their money in order to avoid the continuation of detrimental budget cuts.
Those same increases could have been approved by the Legislature if Republicans would have been more flexible, and they could have won concessions in return. After this election, their importance in the Capitol has been drastically reduced.
This is because for the first time since the 1930s, Democrats obtained supermajorities in both the Assembly and the Senate.
That’s the result of the first state open primaries, a redistricting effort conducted by a citizens’ commission and the Republicans being disconnected from the feelings of the majority of voters.
The fact that Democrats have absolute control over the Capitol imposes new responsibilities upon them, since obstructionism and the opposition are no longer to blame.
This election is a watershed moment for California, opening a new chapter for our state.
