Super Tuesday shakeup + Want to live to 100? Ask a teacher + Who’s spending on CA primaries?
Happy Monday morning to you, California. This week is looking pretty chill, huh?
JK. But really, how much coffee is too much coffee? Asking for a friend...
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
If you voted early in the California Democratic primary, you might have some regrets.
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s big win in South Carolina reset the field of Democratic candidates vying to challenge President Donald Trump this fall just in time for Super Tuesday.
Biden saved his campaign. Two of his rivals ended theirs.
Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer shelled reportedly shelled out more than $20 million on ads in South Carolina. It turns out you can’t buy love in a Democratic primary. He quickly dropped out after the results rolled in Saturday night.
Indian mayor Pete Buttigieg, who spent more time than any other candidate in California, followed on Sunday. He had support in the Golden State from Equality California, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, among others.
Equality California Executive Directed Rick Zbur on Sunday celebrated Buttigieg’s win in the Iowa caucus, and marked the campaign as a milestone for the LGBTQ community.
“Tonight, we are disappointed to see Pete’s historic candidacy come to a close. But our hearts are full and our spirits are strong. And we are forever grateful to Pete and Chasten for their contributions to our community and to this nation,” Zbur said.
Buttigieg is the ninth Democratic presidential candidate whose name is on California ballots, but who won’t count on Election Night.
Meanwhile, in San Jose, Bernie Sanders on Sunday fired up a crowd of 9,500 supporters. The Sacramento Bee’s Bryan Anderson was there and filed this report.
And over at The Capitol Alert Facebook page, we asked if Biden’s win has anyone rethinking his or her ballot. A lot of you told us it is.
WANT TO LIVE TO 100?
They say being around kids keeps you young, right?
Teachers have the longest expected lifespan of any public employee, according to the Society of Actuaries. A typical female teacher is expected to live to 90, and men in the profession can expect to reach 88.
California teachers as a group are even more fortunate.
The average female educator who retires at 62 is expected to collect state pension benefits until 91, according to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. Men retiring at 62 are expected to reach 90, according to the pension fund.
The pension fund recently noticed that the number of centenarians in the system jumped 12 percent just last year. There are 359 retired California teachers over age 100.
The Bee’s Andrew Sheeler caught up with a retiree who hasn’t quite reached that threshold, but Betty Jean Reynolds just might get there. She’s strong enough at 92 to continue volunteering regularly at a Modesto history museum.
“I still continue to volunteer my services where I can to help. It’s important, it’s how communities grow with people coming together, volunteering, sharing,” she told Sheeler.
Read more about Betty Jean and California’s long-living educators here.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
It doesn’t matter who California power brokers like Gov. Gavin Newsom or the state Democratic Party have endorsed for this week’s primary election.
They can’t stop big business, oil and real estate groups from pouring money into primaries to support the moderate Democrats lobbyists think will keep an open door for them in the Capitol.
Big businesses are working through so-called independent expenditure committees that can’t coordinate with candidates directly.
But the interest groups have cut checks — to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars — to finance materials like mailers and TV ads to boost their favored candidates. The money can help determine which contender clears a legislative district’s top-two primary to reach the general election in November.
“There are grudge matches and personal matches going on, all kinds of interesting things that happen,” said Paul Goodwin, a Democratic political campaign researcher. “But it’s led to a lot more money being spent in these campaigns, a lot more different types of campaign spenders.”
The Sacramento Bee’s Hannah Wiley breaks down four of the top-spending contests in this report, from Assemblywoman Susan Eggman’s district around Stockon to Assemblyman Tom Lackey’s in the Mojave Desert.
JSN CAN STILL VOTE FOR HER CANDIDATE
Via Sophia Bollag
Gov. Newsom has stayed silent on his choice in the Democratic presidential primary, but his wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, says she’ll cast her ballot for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Unlike Buttigieg and Steyer, Warren says she isn’t leaving the race. Her campaign on Sunday announced it raised $29 million last month, and it has a plan to get to the Democratic convention in Milwaukee.
A vocal feminist who has made several documentaries about gender inequality, Siebel Newsom urged voters to ignore “what the pundits and the billionaires are telling you to do.”
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the brightest person in the room and she actually cares about each and every one of you, especially our women, our children and our nation’s most vulnerable,” Siebel Newsom said in a video posted to her Twitter account Friday afternoon. “Sen. Elizabeth Warren is electable. She has proven it over and over again.”
Her husband declined to endorse anyone when asked by reporters in Sacramento on Wednesday. He previously endorsed fellow Californian Sen. Kamala Harris, who has since dropped out of the race.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“My mail-in ballot is ready to go. I’m just waiting to figure out who I’m going to vote for for president. It’s been terrible. I’ve watched every town hall, I’ve watched every debate, I’ve talked to people, but I’m running out of time.”
Susan Thomas, a Democratic voter from Hayward at Sanders’ rally
Best of The Bee:
- Gavin Newsom wants to close one state prison. Why not two? Analyst sees greater savings, by Wes Venteicher
- Long before coronavirus,health care workers diagnosed with coronavirus . A cover-up toppled the governor, by Dale Kasler
- 2 health care workers diagnosed with coronavirus had treated Solano County woman with illness, by Cathie Anderson and Darrell Smith
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 4:55 AM.