The former governor and U.N. ambassador is courting voters — and fundraising — while in town.

She is introducing herself to Southern California voters, highlighting her tenure as the Palmetto State’s former chief executive and her foreign policy experience as a U.N. ambassador. But Haley, 52, is also ramping up her criticisms of former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP primary race, saying he begets “chaos” and is focused more on himself than on voters.

“I voted for Donald Trump twice. I was proud to serve America in his administration, but chaos follows him,” Haley said at the Wild Goose Tavern in Costa Mesa on Wednesday morning. “We can’t be a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won’t survive it.”

Pointing to House Republicans knocking down an Israel aid package and an appellate court’s recent ruling that Trump isn’t immune from prosecution for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, Haley said: “Every bit of it is chaos, and he’s got his fingerprints on every bit of it.”

“We need someone with executive experience, but we also need someone who knows national security,” Haley said.

Her message to local voters, Haley told the Southern California News Group in an exclusive interview in Costa Mesa, is: “Let’s make America normal again.”

“There’s a decision that (voters in Southern California) have to make. Do we go with the same or do we go in a new direction? And more of the same is not just Joe Biden; it’s also Donald Trump,” Haley said. “Are we really going to give them two candidates in their 80s? We can do better than that.”

Haley has called for term limits and mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75. She said those views — and others — have fueled Trump’s and his surrogates’ attacks.

“They don’t like that I’m not interested in being their friends,” she said. “I’m interested in serving the taxpayers of our country. … They can go and say whatever lies they want; my record stands true.”

The ages of President Joe Biden (81) and Trump (77) should matter to voters, Haley maintains. “We will have a female president. The hard truth is, it’s either going to be me or Kamala Harris.”

“We need someone who can do eight years of hard, strong discipline to get the job done,” Haley said.

About 400 people crowded inside the Wild Goose Tavern in Costa Mesa during the drizzly morning — according to crowd estimates from Mario Marovic, a partner in the restaurant — sipping on drinks from the bar and eating passed appetizers like pickled deviled eggs and sweet potato goat cheese fritters. Animal heads, draped with bras, lined the walls; “Haley for President” buttons and signs adorned tables.

The bar is named for John Wayne’s yacht, said Newport Beach Councilmember Erik Weigand, who introduced Haley at the Orange County event. “We need somebody just like John Wayne who can stand up to bullies … and that is why I like what Nikki Haley brings to the table.”

Haley had fundraiser events Wednesday as well and capped off the day with a rally at the Hollywood American Legion Post 43 venue in Los Angeles where, by the 7 p.m. start time, the rain had begun to fall pretty heavily. The Southern California region had been hit by a strong storm system the past few days, resulting in heavy rains, mudslides and flooding.

Speaking to the Los Angeles crowd of about 250 people, per the campaign, Haley walked on stage to the thunderous beats of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ‘n Roll.”

There, during her 30-minute stump speech, she highlighted the border crisis and how she would address it. She proposed putting 25,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents on the ground, defunding “sanctuary cities” and introducing a national verification system where all businesses have to prove that the people they hire have legal immigration status.

“Eight and a half million illegal immigrants have come through that border,” she said. “We had more fentanyl come across the border last year than can kill every single American.”

.@NikkiHaley’s LA campaign event is interrupted by a protestor yelling "Nikki Haley is a climate criminal.” After he was kicked out Haley pivots to her husband’s military service saying he and many others fight every day to protect people’s freedoms — like that of free speech. pic.twitter.com/aQfumseSZs

— Clara Harter (@_ClaraHarter) February 8, 2024

In California, the GOP presidential election is considered “closed,” meaning only registered Republican voters will see it on their ballots.

Stephaney Avital, an Orange County resident, said she’s been a registered Democrat but switched parties to support Haley in the primary.

“I want to see a change in our country. I don’t want to see the same old circus that we’ve had in the last eight years,” Avital said. “We want to see moderation, we want to see logic, we want to see policies change. We want to see something different than we’ve already had.”

Elisha Krauss braved the rain and rush hour traffic to bring her three young daughters to see Haley speak in Los Angeles — and they all left with autographed campaign signs.

“As a longtime conservative female it’s glaringly obvious that sometimes the loudest voices don’t really represent moms,” she said, adding that she’s excited about the prospect of electing America’s first female president.

“I’ve lived here for 11 years, and we very rarely get to see big politicians. Most times, they fly in on private jets to go to fundraisers in Bel Air, and you never get to interact with them,” said Krauss, referencing Biden’s one-day stop in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 3. “I think it’s really cool she did this.”

Haley was met Wednesday morning by a small group of Trump supporters who gathered outside the restaurant. They waved “MAGA” flags and wore “America first” hats, calling Haley a “RINO,” a phrase that stands for “Republican in name only” and is used by the former president and his allies to malign those who are more moderate in the GOP.

Two demonstrators were escorted out of the Costa Mesa bar for trying to shout down Haley during the remarks. At least one was a supporter of the former president. She was interrupted again in Los Angeles by a protester who called her a “climate criminal.”

Haley briefly paused her remarks during the interruptions, using it to highlight her husband’s military experience. Maj. Michael Haley is serving in Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard. He and other servicemembers, she said, are making sacrifices so Americans can have freedom of speech.

How Super Tuesday would be super for Haley

The Southern California trip came on the heels of a big loss in the symbolic presidential primary election in Nevada on Tuesday night. There, voters picked “none of these candidates” ahead of Haley. Trump didn’t participate in the Nevada primary, where no delegates are awarded, and is instead focused on Thursday’s caucus.

But Haley brushed it off Wednesday morning, calling it a “scam that Trump already had in the bag.” Her campaign, she said, didn’t spend time or money in Nevada, instead focusing on states like South Carolina and Michigan as well as Super Tuesday spots.

Haley is committed to staying in the race through Super Tuesday, she said.

Gov. @NikkiHaley is in Southern California today to talk to voters ahead of Super Tuesday. She’s drawing on her record as South Carolina’s governor & giving the message: “We will have a female president. The hard truth is, it’s either going to be me or Kamala Harris.” pic.twitter.com/pA2WYYTk0H

— Kaitlyn Schallhorn (@K_Schallhorn) February 7, 2024

“I’m not going anywhere. We have a country to save,” Haley said when asked about how long she’ll stay in the race. “We are determined to outsmart, outwork, outlast until we finish this.”

Super Tuesday — March 5 this year — is a critical time in the primary election season; it’s the day when the most states vote and candidates can rack up more delegates for the summer’s nominating convention.

In California, 169 delegates are at stake and — after the California Republican Party changed its rules last year — Trump could sweep them all. If a candidate can secure a majority of votes in the primary election (50% plus one), the rules now say, he or she will nab all the delegates, the most of any state. But if no contender can secure a majority, the delegates will be distributed proportionally.

About two-thirds (66%) of likely GOP voters in California surveyed in early January said they planned to vote for Trump, according to a Berkeley IGS poll. That’s a 9% increase from its October survey. Haley was in the No. 2 spot, that January poll found, at 11%.

“Donald Trump is running away with the Republican nomination. The question for Nikki Haley thus becomes one of strategy given that she is not going to win this time around,” said Matthew Beckmann, a UC Irvine political science professor.

Haley could be waiting in hopes that Trump will get bumped from the ticket, Beckmann said, or she could be using this campaign as the foundation for the 2028 presidential cycle or other endeavors.

However, “with all the uncertainty surrounding Trump, Haley plodding along and maintaining her status as the only other Republican running is something of a win unto itself,” he said.

Aggregates of national polling show Haley leading Biden in hypothetical head-to-head matchups by about 3.6 points. Trump is ahead of Biden by 1.7 points, according to Real Clear Polling’s aggregation.

“We should want to win the majority of Americans,” Haley said. “But the only way we’re going to do that is if we have a new generational leader.”

But that was when he was a child. He’s one of them now, a lion.

Le, 24, manages Fountain Valley’s Ane Thanh Lion Dance team, one of several Orange County troops ready up for a busy Lunar New Year season.

There are multiple legends of how the lion dance originated. Still, the message is similar: It’s a traditional performance meant to bring luck in a new year in Chinese, Vietnamese and other Asian cultures. While lion dances are often seen around Lunar New Year and Tết parades and celebrations, they are also performed at other important events that would need luck, such as weddings or business openings.

Le and his team of about 25 members practice every Sunday — but the rehearsals get more intense leading up to Lunar New Year, he said.

“We’re perfecting our moves, reenacting something that’s alive and a being itself, having its own character and actually moving like a lion,” he said.

“We don’t want to be people in a costume moving around, doing jumps here and there,” he said. “It’s truly having this character that’s alive. A lot of people in the performance industry is trying to be that person; so we be the lion.”

The lion dance, said Austin Quach, is a way for Asian American dancers to connect with their history and family.

“Being Asian American diaspora and growing up in the U.S., it’s really easy to lose track of that culture, lose track of those roots, where you come from and your family story,” Quach, 27, said. “Participating in lion dance is our way of getting back in touch with our roots and rediscovering our history and everything it has to offer.”

Quach grew up in Northern California where he first studied Chinese martial arts. But his passion evolved into lion and dragon dancing. He devoured VCR tapes and DVDs of the dances. And when he moved to Orange County, he started his own group: Qing Wei Lion & Dragon Dance Cultural Troupe.

Based in Santa Ana, the troupe takes a more hybrid approach, says Quach, its “Sifu,” or executive director. The dance very much draws on a martial arts background, moving lions with power and aggression, but also mimicking small, catlike expressions to portray various emotions.

That “zhou jia” style, incorporating a type of southern Chinese martial art, “has a weight in the way we perform the lion dance,” Quach said. “You’ll notice that through the posture and movements … and the way we bring our lions to life.”

Le’s Ane Thanh Lion Dance group is named for the only non-clergy woman among the 117 Vietnamese martyrs, canonized by Pope John Paul II because they were killed for their faith in the 19th century.

His group practices what Le described as a modern approach to the Southern style of dance, a more popular version where lions are depicted in an array of colors. They use both “fut san” (more aggressive with sharp horns and curved mouths) and “hok san” (more modern and rounded with a flat mouth and friendlier appearance) lions in their performances.

A Northern style of lion dance, he said, more resembles an actual lion, made in gold with yellow and red fur.

“For us, we just want to spread (lion dance) to wherever we can,” Le said. “It’s something we keep dear to us, especially during COVID when this wasn’t available. Coming back, we want to make sure we let people know we’re still here, and we want to show how amazing lion dance is.”

Aside from gearing up for Lunar New Year celebrations, Quach’s Qing Wei troupe recently traveled to their organization’s headquarters in Singapore for an anniversary event. There, they represented the American branch of Qing Wei and met with other dancers from Sydney, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Australia and more, he said.

The troupe of about 50 dancers is mostly comprised of high school students, he said, and the older members are recent college graduates and have full-time jobs. They meet up regularly to train, generally in the evenings or late afternoons for three, sometimes four hours. Practice often goes late into the night, Quach said, and then everyone goes home to finish homework or their jobs.

Both teams, their leaders say, are passionate about the dance and want to see the culture continue in Orange County.

Elected officials and certain public employees’ financial disclosure forms — often called Form 700 or statement of economic interests — are already made public on the Fair Political Practices Commission’s website. The disclosures are a way to prevent potential conflicts of interest in government, according to the FPPC, but despite their practice of publishing them online, the nonpartisan commission is not required by state law to post them, said Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, D-Anaheim.

Valencia’s bill would require public officials, candidates and certain other public employees (like legislative staff) to file their SEIs electronically with the FPPC. And it would also mandate the FPPC continue to post those forms for public view, Valencia said, with some redactions for protection.

The bill passed out of the Assembly last week but details on just what would be redacted are still being hammered out. In a national survey of state legislators and local officials by the progressive nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice in 2023, 43% of state legislators said they experienced threats, and 38% said the amount of abuse they’ve experienced had only increased since first taking office.

In California, the issue of elected officials’ safety is perhaps most recently underscored by the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, in 2022. The assailant broke into the Pelosis’ home, looking for the then-speaker, and attacked Paul Pelosi, then 82 years old, with a hammer. He was convicted of assault and attempted kidnapping in November.

The intent though, according to Valencia, is to allow only the filer’s personal address to be redacted from the public forms. Any business or other ownership would be posted, he said, with the only exception being if a person owned property, like a duplex, and rented out part of the building while primarily residing in another part. That address, then, would be redacted.

“Outside of that, if they’re not living there full-time, it would not be excluded,” Valencia said. “Everything would be public.”

Still, Valencia says the main intent of his legislation is to ensure financial disclosures continue to be publicly available.

“All it takes is for bureaucracy to start snowballing and for whatever reason, the FPPC could decide not to post (the forms) anymore starting tomorrow,” he said. “We need to be proactive in setting these parameters.”

The bill would result in “minor and absorbable enforcement costs,” according to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. But since the FPPC already operates an online system for posting financial disclosure forms, mandating officials file using an online system could result in savings for the commission, the committee said.

Recall reforms

California voters may be asked in November whether they want to see the state’s recall election process reformed.

The Senate last week OK’d a constitutional amendment that would eliminate what’s called the successor question during a state-level recall election.

State-level recall elections in California, as you may remember from the effort to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom less than three years ago, ask voters two questions: Should the officeholder be removed and who should replace that person?

The constitutional amendment, from Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, aims to eliminate that second question, making a recall effort just a simple yes-or-no choice for voters. If voters say yes, then the office would be empty until it’s filled by whatever process is laid out in state statute to fill a vacancy. (For the state’s chief executive, for example, the lieutenant governor would step into the position.)

“The unfortunate reality is that our recall system in its current form incentivizes political opportunism and gamesmanship when it comes to recall elections,” Newman said in a statement. “By simplifying the recall process to focus firmly on the probity and fitness of an elected official, as opposed to his or her prospective replacements, SCA 1 will restore and reaffirm the value of the recall process as a just and measured check on corrupt or malfeasant state-level public officials as originally intended by its framers.”

The Democratic lawmaker was successfully recalled in 2018 after voting to raise the gas tax to help pay for future transportation projects and road improvements but won his seat back in 2020. He’s pitched bills to tighten the recall process in years past as well.

The measure passed 31-7 last week with Orange County’s Democratic delegation voting for it and Republican Sens. Janet Nguyen and Kelly Seyarto against it. It is now in the Assembly, and if it gets a two-thirds majority there, the constitutional amendment could be before voters on November’s general election ballot.

It has the support of Secretary of State Shirley Weber and the League of Women Voters of California. It’s opposed by the nonprofit Election Integrity Project California.

In other news

• Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, wants to establish statewide what’s called a “Blue Envelope” program in California. Already implemented in Riverside and San Diego counties, individuals with developmental disabilities can give law enforcement a blue envelope that contains their license and other information that signals to an officer that they may require special accommodations during the interaction. The idea behind the legislation is to facilitate better interactions between police and individuals with autism, anxiety, deafness or other conditions during traffic stops, emergencies and other service calls, according to her office.

“These blue envelopes have successfully been used in multiple counties and other states to improve accessibility and communication between law enforcement and individuals with disabilities. Simply put, this program works to promote inclusivity and help keep people safe,” Sanchez said.

• Seyarto, whose district includes Yorba Linda, introduced a slate of government transparency legislation last week. Among them is a bill that would require state and local bond measures to include an estimate of the amount of interest the bond would accrue.

That information is already included as part of an annual payment estimate, according to Seyarto’s office, but this would break it out so voters have “sufficient information to make an educated decision,” the senator said.

“That includes being transparent and upfront about the cost of borrowing and what those voters will be paying back, even if it is over an extended period of time,” said Seyarto. “Nobody would enter into a loan agreement without knowing the terms and interest, and the same information should be made clearly available for voters.”

In Orange County, that looks like six congressional districts on the primary ballot — four considered by election analysts to be competitive this year — as well as one state Senate and nine Assembly races. There are also two Board of Supervisor races on the ballot along with three Board of Education seats and an effort to recall two Orange Unified School District trustees.

Over the next week, we plan to highlight one Orange County congressional race each day, starting with California’s 38th district on Monday. We’ll explore the district, from the voter makeup to its boundary lines, and compare the candidates’ platforms and campaign finance reports so you can make informed decisions when filling out your primary ballots.

We will also break down the legislative and county races over the next week as well.

What to know about OC’s House races

Six congressional districts represent at least a sliver of Orange County residents:

• CA-38 includes portions of Los Angeles and Orange counties, including La Habra. Voter registration as of Jan. 5: 48.3% Democrats, 22.8% no party preference, 22.7% Republicans.

• CA-40 includes western San Bernardino and Riverside counties and eastern Orange County, including Mission Viejo, Villa Park and Yorba Linda. Voter registration as of Jan. 5: 37.9% Republicans, 33.9% Democrats, 22% no party preference.

• CA-45 includes a portion of Los Angeles County and Orange County, including Buena Park, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Westminster. Voter registration as of Jan. 5: 37.9% Democrats, 32.4% Republicans, 24% no party preference.

• CA-46, in just Orange County, includes Anaheim, Fullerton and Santa Ana. Voter registration as of Jan. 5: 48.8% Democrats, 23.1% no party preference, 22.1% Republicans.

• CA-47, in just Orange County, includes Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach. Voter registration as of Jan. 5: 35.6% Democrats, 34.3% Republicans, 23.8% no party preference.

• CA-49 includes San Diego and Orange counties, including Dana Point, Laguna Niguel and San Clemente. Voter registration as of Jan. 5: 36.7% Democrats, 33.4% Republicans, 22.2% no party preference.

California’s 47th congressional district is the only race without an incumbent. Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat who holds the seat now, is running for U.S. Senate instead of re-election.

That district is one of four considered to be competitive in Orange County — and could help determine what political party controls the House and speakership next year. According to election analyst Cook Political Report, the district is considered to “lean Democrat.”

Other competitive races include the 40th district, represented by Republican Rep. Young Kim; the 45th, represented by Republican Rep. Michelle Steel; and the 49th, represented by Democratic Rep. Mike Levin. The Cook Political Report ranks Levin’s seat as “likely Democrat” and Kim’s as “likely Republican.” Steel’s seat is considered to “lean Republican.”

Check back for the first installment of the series, breaking down the race for CA-38. Incumbent Rep. Linda Sánchez, a Democrat, faces three Republican challengers: entrepreneur Eric Ching, entrepreneur Robert Ochoa and pastor John Sarega.

In the meantime, you can find information about each candidate on your ballot, from the U.S. Senate race to local contests, as well as an interactive map to find the nearest ballot drop box, explainers on the ballot measures and a look at who our opinion team has endorsed at our 2024 Primary Election Voter Guide here. 

Our 2024 Primary Election Voter Guide launches online today, a one-stop-shop to find candidates’ platforms, explainers on ballot measures and our editorial board’s endorsements.

It’s an easy way to get to know who is on your ballot and compare the candidates vying for your vote. And we’ve got some new features for you this year, like an interactive map to help you find the nearest ballot drop box and demographical information about each race.

You can hear from candidates, in their own words, as they answered questionnaires on various topics, including how the economy is impacting Orange County, what’s next for artificial intelligence and its regulation and how border security can be better addressed, just to name a few.

Find the questionnaire here.

From there, scroll through the page or use the drop-down menu in the upper left corner to find a specific race.

Click on candidates’ names to see their questionnaires and answers in full. Candidates vying for the same seat received the same questions, and answers were only edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove offensive language.

You can find explainers on all the local ballot measures in Orange County as well as the lone statewide proposition before primary voters this March: Proposition 1. You can also find information about the only recall election on primary ballots in Orange County: an effort to oust two Orange Unified School Board trustees from their posts.

There is information about each race and district, such as how long terms last and why the U.S. Senate race is on your ballot twice. And for congressional and legislative races, you can find information about the district’s voter makeup.

The Voter Guide is available for all readers and can be shared. Find it online at ocregister.com/voter-guide.

And if you care to compare candidates’ responses this year to how they answered in 2022 – if they ran for office that year – you can find those answers at ocregister.com/2022-voter-guide/.

There are more than 100 secure ballot drop boxes around Orange County that will open on Monday, Feb. 5, for the 2024 primary elections. They are available 24/7, per the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

Use the map below to find the nearest drop box location to you. You can zoom in on a particular location or use the search bar to look near a specific place or address.

Aside from drop boxes, vote centers — where you can cast your ballot in person, drop off a ballot, register to vote, get a replacement ballot and find other election-related assistance — will begin to open up on Saturday, Feb. 24. More information on where to find those, and when specific vote centers will open, can be found on the Registrar’s website.

Map key

• Purple: Walk-up only
• Orange: Drive-up or drive-thru only
• Blue: Both walk-up or drive-thru options

For Proposition 1, voters are asked whether to authorize a nearly $6.4 billion bond for facilities for mental health or substance abuse treatment.

It is not a new tax; instead, the measure shifts about $140 million in existing tax revenue from counties to the state for mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office summary.

Since 2005, California has collected a tax from people with incomes over $1 million and used that money — between $2 billion and $3.5 billion every year — on mental health services. Under this, called the Mental Health Services Act, 95% of that money goes directly to counties to spend on certain types of services.

If Prop 1 is successful in the primary election, the state would get more of that funding (about 5% more) and would have to spend some on increasing the amount of mental health care workers in the state as well as drug and alcohol prevention measures, according to the LAO. Counties would be required to spend more on housing and personalized support services.

An estimated 4,350 housing units (with half earmarked for veterans) and 6,800 spaces for people to receive mental health services would be created if the measure is approved — as well as about 26,700 outpatient treatment slots, according to the California Budget & Policy Center.

The state would have to repay the bonds by $310 million each year for 30 years — a potentially unpalatable figure when the state is already grappling with a nearly $38 billion budget deficit.

Arguments for Prop 1

The Governor’s Office calls it a “re-focus of billions of dollars in existing funds to prioritize Californians with the deepest mental health needs, living in encampments or suffering the worst substance use issues.”

The goal, supporters say, is to emphasize housing in tandem with mental health care.

“These reforms, and this new investment in behavioral health housing, will help California make good on promises made decades ago,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “We see the signs of our broken system every day — too many Californians suffering from mental health needs or substance use disorders and unable to get (the) support or care they need.”

Proponents say the measure will expand community-based services that will help an estimated tens of thousands of residents a year and prioritize treatments for those who are struggling rather than incarceration.

Proponents also say the measure will earmark $1 billion for veterans experiencing homelessness, substance abuse issues or mental health challenges.

“When you see people in the street, they’re covered in urine or covered in feces and they’re dirty and they’re pacing and they’re talking or screaming at each other … what you are witnessing is human pain and suffering,” Brian Rice with the California Professional Firefighters Association said at a recent rally in support of Prop 1 in Los Angeles.

“We can’t keep doing this,” Rice said.

Other supporters of the measure include the National Alliance on Mental Illness – California, the California Chamber of Commerce and the Orange County Coalition of Police and Sheriffs.

A December survey found 68% of likely voters said they would support Prop 1, compared to 30% who said they were a no and 2% who were undecided. That Public Policy Institute of California poll found the measure was more popular among registered Democrats: 85% of Democrats said they’d vote yes along with 40% of Republicans and 66% of independents.

Arguments against Prop 1

Those opposed to the ballot measure argue that it reallocates funds used for other mental health services offered by counties, like crisis response and outreach efforts. The measure could, according to the League of Women Voters, ultimately hamper “counties’ ability to set priorities based on local needs for mental health services.”

There are concerns, too, that the measure could amplify forced treatment — something else — and curtail crucial services the MHSA has provided for historically underserved communities, like LGBTQ+ or communities of color, according to the Budget & Policy Center.

“Any variances that may allow counties to spend more or less on specific categories would increase their administrative costs and do not erase the lack of flexibility they would have to meet specific needs,” the League of Women Voters said.

In its argument against the measure, a group of mental health organizations argued that the provisions wouldn’t provide long-term housing or solutions for unhoused Californians.

“Two-thirds of the money is for time-limited and potentially ‘locked’ treatment beds, not permanent housing. When people leave treatment, they’ll be back on the streets, still disabled, unable to work, again without housing,” said Mental Health America of California CEO Heidi Strunk and California Association of Mental Health Peer-Run Executive Director Andrea Wagner.

The League of Women Voters also contends that the measure was rushed through the legislative process last year — meaning debate from community-based organizations and civil rights advocates was stifled. Budgetary decisions, the group argues, should be made by the legislature and not a ballot initiative.

Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, and Sen. Brian Jones, R-San Diego, are also opposed to the measure.

It was a question that Garvey, a former Los Angeles Dodger, has seemingly tried to evade on the campaign trail, including during the debate.

“When the time comes, I’ll do exactly what I should do: I’ll look at the two opponents, I will determine what they did and at that time, I will make my choice,” Garvey said before arguing that the U.S. was safer under former President Donald Trump than President Joe Biden.

Garvey’s refusal to say outright whether he’d back the man who is most likely to lead his party’s ticket again this year garnered rebukes from his Democratic competitors, Reps. Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter.

But could that strategy — avoiding aligning himself with an increasingly polarizing figure in American politics — be a smart one, especially given California’s unique primary system?

In most primary elections in California, including a U.S. Senate race, the top two vote-getters in the March 5 election advance to the general, regardless of party affiliation.

“Garvey’s obviously decided that it’s worth the gamble to potentially alienate Trump voters here in order to reach a broader base of voters,” said Dan Schnur, a former campaign consultant who teaches about political messaging at UC Berkeley and USC.

“There certainly aren’t enough Trump supporters in California to elect a senator; what’s less clear is whether or not there’s enough of them to get a Senate candidate in the runoff. Garvey’s obviously decided there aren’t enough to get him through the primary so he’s trying to keep his distance.”

Annette Eliot, a Trump supporter and president of the Huntington Harbour Republican Women Federated, was less concerned by Garvey’s avoidance of the question on the debate stage because she saw it as the three Democrats ganging up on him.

“You have to appeal to all voters,” Eliot said. “You know how Trump evokes emotion — either overwhelmingly for him or overwhelmingly no way, I will not vote for him. … I think (Garvey) was being pressured, and he wasn’t going to take the bait.”

She took his debate message as: “I’m running as a Republican for Senate for all the people, for the people who want to vote for Trump and who don’t want to vote for Trump.”

And as long as Garvey continues to just keep his distance but not outright criticize Trump, said Rob Stutzman, a GOP strategist who served in the Schwarzenegger administration, he should be fine with Republican primary voters. Those voters are more likely to rally behind Garvey the more Democrats and the media castigate him for not taking a position, he said.

“Show me another (Republican) Senate candidate who has taken as bold a position, not promising to vote for Trump if he’s the nominee,” Stutzman said. “It’s an extraordinary credit to him.”

Still, as Schnur points out, keeping distance from Trump — notorious for outright demanding loyalty — is risky.

Garvey not clearly campaigning on his support for Trump could open up the door for another Republican candidate to take up that mantle, but it’s unlikely that another candidate could get enough public attention, especially this close to the primary, to pull that off.

“The question is whether Trump or his surrogates decide to elevate the issue,” Schnur said.

There are nearly twice as many registered Democrats in California than Republicans (10.35 million to 5.87 million) with no party preference voters not far behind (4.91 million). But a recent poll from the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found support for Trump among California Republicans is rising as the primary barrels closer. The survey found 66% of likely GOP voters in the state back the former president, up from 57% in October.

If those figures hold out in the primary, that means Trump could — under the new rules set by the California GOP over the summer — sweep all of the state’s 169 delegates, about 14% of what’s needed for the Republican presidential nomination. (A Republican candidate needs more than half of the statewide primary vote to earn all those delegates.)

Garvey has voted for Trump in his past two bids for the White House. For 2024, he’s “being deliberative in who he votes for,” taking time to analyze all the candidates, watch debates and read articles, said Matt Shupe, Garvey’s campaign spokesperson.

“I don’t think it’s important. His message has always been: he’s running for the vote of every Californian, whether you’re a Trump supporter or a Biden supporter,” Shupe said.

Usually simply called AB 5, the controversial law essentially codified a 2018 state Supreme Court ruling that designated when workers should be classified as employees and entitled to health benefits, minimum wage and other protections through the use of a three-pronged, ABC litmus test. The law was revised in 2020 to include certain exceptions, including some involving the news industry.

But Republicans say the labor law severely limits independent contractors in California and places unfair restrictions on certain jobs.

Standing in front of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency in Sacramento last week, Republicans announced a new legislative effort, spearheaded by Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, that would repeal that three-pronged litmus test and nullify the Supreme Court’s decision in that 2018 Dynamex case.

“There are few things more representative of the American Dream than starting your own business or working for yourself. For far too many Californians, that dream was ripped away by the implementation of AB 5,” Sanchez said.

Her bill, AB 1928, was only just introduced last week and hasn’t been referred to a committee yet. Still, a full-on repeal of the labor law is considered to be a longshot, especially with a Democratic supermajority.

“The Democratic supermajority in the two houses are not going to approve such a measure,” said Chris Micheli, a veteran lobbyist in Sacramento. “With victory in the courts and the codification of the Dynamex decision and the so-called ABC test that was a top priority for the California Labor Federation, I can’t imagine that they’d acquiesce to such a measure.”

An easier route, Micheli offered, might be to try to add to the list of exemptions — like ridesharing apps Uber and Lyft did with a ballot measure in 2020.

The legislators’ event was held in tandem with Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, who is trying to block a federal effort to implement similar rules nationwide.

AB 5 was championed by former Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, a labor leader in California, who said the idea was to protect workers.

“Today, we are disrupting the status quo and taking a bold step forward to rebuild our middle class and reshape the future of workers as we know it,” she said when AB 5 was signed into law. “As one of the strongest economies in the world, California is now setting the global standard for worker protections for other states and countries to follow.”

In other news

• Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, has newly introduced legislation that would put before voters a measure to enhance penalties for repeated drug dealing and retail theft offenders. The measure would also ensure rehabilitation measures are available and offered by courts or law enforcement when warranted.

• Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, is spearheading legislation to ensure anyone who is in court can have access to a lactation room should they need to pump breast milk. The superior court already must provide employees such a space, but her bill would expand that mandate to include non-employees, such as a lawyer or juror.

• Vice President Kamala Harris was in Sacramento last week, part of several recent visits and fundraisers planned around the state, where she spoke to members of the California Legislative Democratic Caucus. According to the Sacramento Bee, Harris touted the Biden administration’s accomplishments and said the international community has concerns about another Trump presidency.

The latest endorsement came from Rep. Lou Correa, who announced his support for Schiff Thursday morning, Jan. 25.

“I feel good in saying I’ve endorsed a good friend, an old friend, that we have worked together on issues for over 15 years,” said Correa.

Correa had praise for all three of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate race — Schiff from Burbank, Porter from Irvine and Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland — noting that he tries to stay out of primary races, “especially when it’s primaries among friends.”

But Schiff, Correa said, supports taxpayer equity for Orange County and requests for earmarks, the budget process by which individual members of Congress can bypass the federal government’s regular spending process and request money for local groups or needs. (Among the three House Democrats in the race, Porter doesn’t request earmarks and is vocally opposed, saying members can request funding for projects that benefit them rather than their districts.)

Schiff has also supported Correa’s legislative efforts to ensure businesses are compensated when negatively impacted by a major transit or highway project, the Orange County congressman said.

“He’s the guy who stepped up,” Correa said.

Reps. Mike Levin of San Juan Capistrano and Linda Sánchez of Whittier have also backed Schiff in the race. They, along with Correa, are among the 70% of California’s Democratic congressional delegation who have endorsed Schiff, according to Schiff’s campaign.

Other Orange County Democrats backing the Burbank Democrat include state Sen. Tom Umberg, Assemblymembers Blanca Pacheco and Avelino Valencia, County Supervisor Doug Chaffee and Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken.

A spokesperson for Porter’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

The three House Democrats are among a crowded slate of candidates vying for the seat, long held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in the March 5 primary. Other contenders include Republican Steve Garvey, a businessman and former Los Angeles Dodger; Democrat Christina Pascucci, a former KTLA 5 reporter; and Republican Eric Early, an attorney.

“Californians are tired of politicians who pay lip service to issues like housing and homelessness, but won’t secure the resources needed to address these challenges head-on,” said Marisol Samayoa, a spokesperson for Schiff’s campaign. “That’s why Orange County leaders … overwhelmingly back (Schiff) in this Senate race because they know Californians deserve a senator who will deliver results, not more talking points.”

Polling from Emerson College ahead of the Senate debate showed Schiff maintains a substantial lead over the rest of the field, with Garvey in second. Monday was the first televised debate of the election cycle for Lee, Porter, Schiff and Garvey; another has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 12,  hosted by KTLA.