2010 Primary Election Overview – Part 1: Incumbent Challenges
A total of 551 candidates are running in the June 8 Primary Election for congress or the state legislature.
Two hundred thirteen (51 incumbents) are running in one of the 53
congressional districts; 275 (51 incumbents) are running in one of the
80 assembly districts; and 63 (10 incumbents) are running in one of the
20 even-numbered state senate districts up for election this year.
Let me first congratulate Central Valley Republican Congressmen Devin Nunes (CD21) and Kevin McCarthy (CD22), along with Los Angeles Democratic Assembly Members John Pérez – Speaker of the Assembly – and Mike Davis on their re-election this year. The four are unopposed in both the June Primary and November General Election.
The Debate: As Charges Fly, The Answer to the Initiative Question Is….
The second Republican gubernatorial debate in San Jose yesterday featured relentless attacks from Steve Poizner, with Meg Whitman sticking to the script that has served her well so far. Whitman counterattacked, but Poizner had the sharper elbows.
Three times Poizner said the election was about character and asked Whitman, "Who are you, really?" in identifying Whitman as a supporter of Barbara Boxer and Van Jones. Whitman called Poizner a true engineer, as in engineering a new position for every office he runs for. Meanwhile, solutions to California’s many problems were few and far between.
How Does Our State Grow?
California added nearly 400,000 residents in 2009, bringing the state’s population to 38.4 million. But the real tale remains in the composition of that growth.
Over the past two decades, between one-half and two-thirds of the gross increase in population was from natural increase – births minus deaths. But the interesting story is the net population increase. In 12 of the 19 years since 1990, more Californians have left the state to go to other states than moved here from the rest of the country. The net outflow of Californians since 1991 has been more than 1.5 million residents. That has been more than made up by foreign immigration – both legal and illegal. Since 1990 California has enjoyed a net increase of nearly four million foreign immigrants.
California’s Entrepreneurship Among the Ruins
I’ve discussed California’s entrepreneurship and the current recession in several articles over the past year (here, here, & here).
This past week brings new data on business incorporations during the recession from Ms. Philly Crosby of the Secretary of State’s office. These data continue to show the strength of California’s entrepreneurs.
Below is a summary of the new business incorporations from 1999-2009.