Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Katie Porter got in a lot of trouble at the end of her 2024 Senate campaign for using the word ‘rigged’ to describe the statewide primary race she lost. She was referring to a coordinated campaign by big money, particularly crypto interests, to drive up her negatives and hand California’s Senate seat to Adam Schiff. Those interests got their return on investment this year when Schiff supported the GENIUS Act. But underneath that was another kind of rigging, one that experienced observers of the political scene here have long witnessed. Schiff was anointed the front-runner by a class of influential politicians and consultants who have long played kingmaker in California. Contested elections between Democrats for major statewide offices in this one-party state have been nonexistent during the past 20 years, as establishment-chosen politicians have divvied up the spoils.” (08/13/25)
https://prospect.org/politics/2025-08-13-establishment-struggles-control-california-governors-race/