Watch: Ace Political Columnist Mark Z. Barabak Breaks Down Ca. Governor Race, Redistricting Wars and Battle for Congress
The LA Times's peripatetic pundit returns to Newsmakers TV with intel from the front lines and reports a "big disconnect" between the concerns of the political class and real-life anxieties of voters.
National reporting about the California governor’s race in recent weeks has focused on such weighty matters as: the lack of A-list celebrities running; the increasingly shrinking chance that two Republicans make the run-off; what Democratic front-runner Xavier Becerra said to a TV reporter before an interview; and whether Republican favorite Steve Hilton knows the difference a street taco and a Del Taco.
L.A. Times ace columnist Mark Z. Barabak, who’s been following campaigns across the state for 40 years, reports that few such profound issues are on the radar of Actual Voters, as his latest reporting trip talking to real people in gas stations, fast food joints and shopping malls made clear.
“I think there's a big disconnect,” between what voters and the pundit class are focused on, Barabak said in a return appearance on Newsmakers TV this week.
“Not a single one of them said, ‘Wow, I really want a governor who's going to entertain me and jolly me and keep me happy and be captivating and sparkle and all that stuff.,’" he said. “I mean, I heard a lot about affordability. I heard a lot about gas. I heard a lot about groceries. I heard a lot about people who were worried about their kids, or a 30-year-old waitress who said that ‘I can't think of buying a home and all my friends are moving away.’”
So despite the sentiments of Big Foot bloviators from Back East, Barabak added, “I think this is the most compelling California governor’s race in ages.”
In our conversation, the LA Times ace broke down the state of the play in the race, less than three weeks before the June 2 primary; offered capsule assessments of the top contenders; reflected on the seismic political shocks reverberating from the national struggle over redistricting; provided his own nightmare scenario of the endgame of this year’s white-hot partisan warfare; and shared the latest on the presidential prospects of political frenemies Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris.
Plus: the genial host discloses the most valuable candid advice he ever got about covering politics.
All this and more, right here, right now on Newsmakers TV.
Check out our conversation with Mark Barabak (Episode 578) via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. Our podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, or on SoundCloud here. TVSB, Channel 17, airs the show every weeknight at 5 p.m. and at 9 a.m. on weekends. KCSB, 91.9 FM, broadcasts the program at 5:30 p.m. on weekends.