Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics For The Week Ending 1/9/26 - Newsom, Scrivner, SCE, Bass, Jimenez, Newman, and more!

Below is our Top Ten List of Winners and Losers for the Week. This feature is available to all of our subscribers, free and paid.

⏱️ 5 minute read

This is where we examine state and local politics (or national issues with a California angle), and highlight individuals (or groups) who have achieved notable successes or have had a particularly challenging week. I strive to call balls and strikes fairly and objectively, which sometimes makes assembling this list difficult.

*NEW FEATURE* WORST WEEK IN CALIFORNIA POLITICS

Starting this week, we have a new feature for paid subscribers. It’s below the paywall, and basically, I do a video dumping session on whoever had the worst week. Hey, if they are having a bad week, why not pile on? Fun times! It starts today!

Top Winners & Losers This Week in California Politics

⬇️ LOSER: GAVIN NEWSOM

He used the recent passing of Congressman Doug LaMalfa as a political prop in his State of the State address to take a cheap jab at President Trump. Exploiting a colleague’s death to score partisan points crossed a basic line of decency, even by Sacramento standards. It wasn’t leadership, policy, or vision — just a tone-deaf moment that reflected poorly on the office and distracted from the serious business Californians expect to hear about, not that Newsom said anything serious.

⬆️ WINNERS: JUDGE LAWRENCE VANDYKE AND JUDGE KENNETH K. LEE

They ruled that California’s ban on open carry in most of the state violates the Second Amendment. In doing so, the panel applied the Supreme Court’s Bruen framework as written, rather than inventing new tests or deferring to Sacramento’s policy preferences. The opinion turned on history, not politics, concluding the state failed to justify a sweeping ban affecting nearly all Californians. That kind of judicial discipline is rare on the Ninth Circuit, even if the ruling is ultimately short-lived.

⬆️ WINNER: MONIQUE LIMÓN

She ascended to the top job in the California State Senate this week, becoming Senate President pro tempore — and you don’t get there without earning Winner of the Week. Limón comes from Santa Barbara, built her career through local government and the Assembly, and now takes over the upper chamber at a moment of budget stress and political transition. She replaces Mike McGuire, who is term-limited and conveniently drew himself a safe new House seat under the Prop. 50 map. However you view her politics, this is a clear power move and a clear win.

⬇️ LOSER: ZACK SCRIVNER

A former Kern County Supervisor charged with felony child abuse will avoid a trial and potential jail time by entering a mental-health diversion program under California law. The decision has sparked bipartisan outrage and raised serious questions about accountability when diversion statutes are applied to serious crimes. This outcome undermines confidence in the justice system and highlights a loophole lawmakers now say never should have existed.

⬇️ LOSERS: DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATORS WHO WANT TO RAISE MORE TAXES

They’re once again floating new tax increases to paper over California’s chronic budget problems, reflexively reaching for higher taxes instead of confronting spending, waste, or structural reform. There are way too many tax-hungry Democratic legislators to name them all in here, but they are all losers. This tax-first mindset is a big reason California remains unaffordable for families and hostile to businesses.

⬇️ LOSER: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON

They have begun paying compensation tied to the Eaton Fire, but the pace has been unconscionably slow. Trying to move at “Karen Bass speed” is no excuse when victims are struggling to recover. Settling lawsuits is necessary, but slow-walking relief compounds the damage and prolongs hardship for communities that need help now, not months or years later.

⬇️ LOSER: ISRAEL CLAUSTRO, ORANGE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE

He accepted a plea deal in a workers’ compensation fraud case that requires his resignation from the bench. Facing a mail fraud charge, with federal prosecutors recommending probation, the case represents a serious breach of public trust. Judges are held to the highest ethical standards, and conduct like this disqualifies anyone from continuing to serve in judicial office.

⬇️ LOSER: KAREN BASS, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES

One year after the devastating Los Angeles fires, the city remains frozen in place, with rebuilding stalled and accountability nowhere to be found. Promises of urgency and flexibility gave way to bureaucratic paralysis and edited after-action reports. Instead of taking responsibility, Bass and her team are busy trying to whitewash critical after-action review documents meant to honestly assess what went wrong. Leadership is judged by outcomes, and the outcomes here are indefensible.

⬇️ LOSER: SUZANNE JIMENEZ, SEIU-UNITED HEALTHCARE WORKERS WEST

She and her union are behind a new billionaire wealth tax proposal that has intensified concerns about California’s hostility to capital. Even the introduction of such a measure, combined with Sacramento’s aggressive left-wing policy agenda, sends a clear signal to high earners to leave. Billionaires and major investors are already relocating or planning exits, accelerating capital flight and shrinking the tax base.

⬇️ LOSER: FORMER DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR JOSH NEWMAN

For authoring a battery fee and product stewardship law that adds yet another cost to everyday goods, he exemplifies the pile of mandates passed by the liberal legislature and signed by Gavin Newsom that are making California less affordable. This fee-driven approach may be dressed up as environmental policy, but it ultimately lands on consumers already stretched thin.

OK, now for all of you paid subscribers… Below, I got on a good length rant on our featured Worst Week In California Politics awardee — check it out! What? Aren’t you a paid subscriber? Hit the red button for a free trial!

AND THE “AWARD” FOR WORST WEEK IN CALIFORNIA POLITICS GOES TO…