When Newsom announced he was under investigation, he blamed his White House aspirations instead of his frequent ideological clashes with Trump or dozens of lawsuits against the federal government, framing himself as a major threat to the MAGA movement. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

I started this week as the Congress accountability and enterprise reporter for @washingtonpost.com. I’m excited to join this fantastic team to do investigations on the Hill. If you’ve got a juicy tip or want to connect, reach out at [email protected] or akoseff.01 on Signal.

Under the Trump administration, the once-routine renewal of DACA status, which must be extended every two years, has turned into a protracted and uncertain process that is upending applicants’ lives and fomenting fears about the program’s future. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Primary results show Democrats well-positioned to flip the five California House seats they targeted with Prop 50 www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

The first question that San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su faced set the tone for the hearing, @jilltucker.bsky.social writes: “At what age do you think students should be exposed to drag queen story hour?” www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...

UPDATE: Democrat Xavier Becerra is now leading Republican Steve Hilton in California’s race for governor. Here are the latest results.

A near-complete freeze on federal funding to help California communities recovering from natural disasters better prepare for future hazards has raised alarms among state officials. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Ticket sales are slow and prices are dropping. Fans are reselling at a loss. Hotel rooms and rentals remain vacant along the Peninsula. The World Cup is turning out to be a flop for the Bay Area, @rswansf.bsky.social reports: www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

What doomed Saikat Chakrabarti's congressional campaign? @joegarofoli.bsky.social says it was his lack of relationships with a tight-knit local political community. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joe...

"So much of this stuff is timing and dumb luck." And Becerra gave nervous Democrats a candidate to rally around just as ballots dropped, @sophiabollag.bsky.social writes: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

No Democrat is currently positioned to advance in a Sacramento-area House seat redrawn last year to flip control. Many are confident Richard Pan will pull ahead once all votes are counted, but it's another jump scare for Dems in the top two primary era. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

A rough night for wealthy, self-funding candidates in California. After record spending, gubernatorial hopeful Tom Steyer trails in third. Several rich challengers wiped out in Bay Area House races. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Another California race to keep an eye on: CD6, redrawn by Prop 50 as pickup for Democrats, who could get locked out of the top two. Richard Pan narrowly led Michael Stansfield in earlier returns, now trails slightly in third. We'll see if remaining ballots are more Democratic.

Villegas extended his lead slightly with thousands more ballots counted overnight. If it holds, this would be a big win for progressives despite late intervention by the DCCC: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

With more ballots counted, Hernandez now up just 94 votes over Republican Wendy Huang (who wasn't even the GOP-endorsed candidate!) for third.

Nearly 35,500 votes counted so far in CD22, which averaged about 59,000 in the last two primaries. So there's still room for the DCCC-backed Jasmeet Bains to overtake progressive Randy Villegas in what has become a bitter ideological battle for Democrats...but maybe not a ton.

In high-profile challenges to Bay Area House members: * Eric Jones, who contributed millions to his campaign against Mike Thompson, currently running close third in CD4 * Silicon Valley-backed Ethan Agarwal an utter nonfactor in CD17, looks like no shot at top two with Ro Khanna

Connie Chan has a comfortable lead over Saikat Chakrabarti for second place in the early results out of the San Francisco House district. Nancy Pelosi campaigned for Chan in the final weeks of the race. www.sfchronicle.com/election/art...

In eighth place, Tony Thurmond is not running too far ahead of Betty Yee, who dropped out of the governor's race in April

Could be two Democrats in the race to replace Eric Swalwell. Progressive Aisha Wahab, endorsed by the state party, is way out in front. But Melissa Hernandez, who got a late boost from centrist groups, is ahead of two Republicans for second right now. www.sfchronicle.com/election/art...

In other open statewide races, an early lead for: * Fiona Ma (D) and Gloria Romero (R) for LG * Eleni Kounalakis (D) and Jennifer Hawks (R) for treasurer * Jane Kim (D) and Ben Allen (D) for insurance commissioner * Sonja Shaw and Richard Barrera for schools chief (nonpartisan)

With the first few million ballots counted, it's Becerra and Hilton in the lead. The question is how many anxious Democratic voters who turned in their ballots at the last minute settled on Steyer. www.sfchronicle.com/election/art...

The polls are now closed in California. @sfchronicle.com has a live blog to track the results as they come in tonight: www.sfchronicle.com/election/art...

The polls in California don't close until 8 p.m. tonight, but bookmark the @sfchronicle.com live blog for results and other election updates throughout the day: www.sfchronicle.com/election/art...

It looks to be coming down to the wire for second place in the governor's race and CD11. Will Hilton or Steyer make the top two? Is Chakrabarti or Chan moving on to November? Plus what else @sfchronicle.com is tracking on primary day: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

We'll know soon whether Nancy Pelosi's late endorsement pushed Connie Chan over the edge and into the top two of the CD11 primary. Pelosi spent the weekend stumping in San Francisco for her chosen successor. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Eric Swalwell spent another quarter million dollars from his gubernatorial campaign account on legal fees in just the past month, @sophiabollag.bsky.social reports: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Election after election, Democrats have tried and (mostly) failed to take out David Valadao. Now he's more vulnerable than ever — and Democrats are locked in a testy dispute over the best way to beat him, with control of the House on the line. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Gavin Newsom's office reached out to Oakland officials for help clearning a homeless encampment outside his podcast cohost Marshawn Lynch's home www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/arti...

The long-awaited Pelosi endorsement! A boon to Connie Chan, who has been locked in a tight race for second in the June primary. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joe...

San Francisco's school district will get the culture war spotlight at a congressional hearing next month www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...

Amid a campaign about housing affordability and fighting back against the Trump administration, the candidates in California's 14th Congressional District are suddenly grappling with what kind of leader can restore their community’s shattered confidence. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

@joereid.bsky.social Very fun run-through of what would have won the voice performance Oscar for the past 25 years! Maybe the reason you struggled with 2005 is because they totally would have given it to Morgan Freeman in “March of the Penguins” that year.

The Chinese American community has been a powerhouse in San Francisco politics for decades and Connie Chan is seeking to become the first Chinese American to represent the city in Congress. But she's still struggling to break through as the primary looms. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/c...

His connection to AOC is a focus of Chakrabarti’s campaign messaging, but she hasn't endorsed him. What happened between them? And why is he so eager to return to a place where, seven years ago, he either no longer wanted to be or was no longer welcome? www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

As he rises in the race for San Francisco's congressional seat, @saikatforcongress.bsky.social's dramatic exit from Washington seven years ago has offered his rivals a line of attack, especially with his former boss @aoc.bsky.social declining to endorse him www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Congress took a significant step today toward nullifying California's voter-approved Proposition 12. But the law requiring more space for breeding pigs isn't dead yet. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

The Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s second majority Black congressional district in a decision that could open the door for Republican-led states to eliminate Black and Latino electoral districts that tend to favor Democrats apnews.com/article/supr...

Donors are seeking more than $1.5 million in refunds from Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign following sexual misconduct allegations. He also appears to be using account to cover legal expenses, which may skirt California law. With @sophiabollag.bsky.social: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Latest financial disclosure for Eric Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign includes a $40,000 payment to his new defense lawyer, Sara Azari. I'm not seeing payments for the attorneys who were sending cease and desist letters on his behalf in recent months. cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfge...

The Senate and the House have both passed sweeping bills this year that aim to bring down the cost of housing by making it easier and less expensive to build. Now they just need to agree about how to do that. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

A controversial Bay Area tribe seeking federal recognition and control of the Presidio has hired Roger Stone's lobbying firm www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/p...

Many — but not all — of the Democrats running to succeed Eric Swalwell have lined up behind a caretaker candidate in the upcoming special election to fill the vacant House seat as quickly as possible, @joegarofoli.bsky.social reports: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joe...

Betty Yee drops out of the governor's race, but does not endorse another candidate, @sophiabollag.bsky.social reports www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

The percentage of Black San Franciscans has fallen to about a third of what it was 50 years ago. @sfchronicle.com dives into the data of the city's shifting Black neighborhoods: www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...

Close allies and voters are still trying to make sense of the two Eric Swalwells: a leading Trump critic who, in private, allegedly lured young women with offers of mentorship that turned into explicit messages, invitations to his hotels and sexual assault www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

We've been asked a lot how we got our story about the sexual assault allegations against Eric Swalwell. @demianbulwa.bsky.social wrote about the fundamental acts of journalism, not opposition research, that unearthed this scandal: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Rep. @ericswalwell.bsky.social has resigned from Congress as of 2 p.m. ET today. In a letter of resignation read on the House floor, he apologized to his family, staff and constituents but said he "will fight the serious, false allegations made against me."

Rep. Eric Swalwell is resigning from Congress “Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being, made is wrong,” he said in a statement. “But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties." www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Will Rep. Eric Swalwell finish his final term in Congress? There is now an ethics investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against him and a growing push to expel him when the House returns from recess this week www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...