2022 is almost over. These were the biggest political stories of the year
The year is nearly done, and 2022 brought with it many big political news stories.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made headlines as pundits weighed in on his presidential prospects, lawmakers debated and passed some controversial bills and, oh yeah, there were also two elections.
Now, as 2022 comes to a close, here is a look back at some of the stories that had the greatest reader interest.
Election central
With California playing a key role in determining which party would control Congress, The Bee kept you apprised of the latest breaking developments, such as when Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy, won reelection in one of the nation’s most closely watched races, or the surprising back-and-forth that took place in the Central Valley congressional race between Democrat Adam Gray and Republican John Duarte.
Sen. Alex Padilla, who was appointed by Newsom to replace Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021, may have seemed like a foregone conclusion to win a full term of office, but that didn’t stop readers from wanting to know what their options were, including a socialist, a billionaire and a podiatrist.
And what’s a California election without some hotly contested ballot measures? The 2022 midterm election did not disappoint, with two propositions in particular — Proposition 26, to legalize sports betting at tribal casinos, and Proposition 27, to legalize online sports betting — being the subject of heavy political spending.
Chances are, you received more than a few dubious mailers making promises about those propositions. The Bee was there to help readers sort through the spin.
Even after the elections were concluded, the political drama continued, as four newly elected or reelected GOP Hispanic lawmakers were excluded from the all-Democrat California Latino Legislative Caucus.
Politicians in the spotlight
Newsom was no stranger to news headlines in 2022, but one of The Bee’s most widely read stories was actually an AM Alert newsletter item reporting the governor’s trip to the nation’s capital, where he indulged in one of his favorite pastimes: Taking political jabs at the governors of Florida and Texas.
“What the hell’s going on in this country?” Newsom demanded to know, in response to stories about Texas book bannings and Florida’s so-called “Don’t say gay” law.
Meanwhile, back in California, Newsom has promised that the state would return land to Native American tribes. The Bee examined his progress.
Newsom wasn’t the only political figure in the spotlight this year, though.
Former Republican California Rep. Devin Nunes, who left Congress to helm former President Donald Trump’s social media network Truth Social, had his own fair share of headlines.
Readers avidly followed the progress of Nunes’ many lawsuits, including a story about how judges ruled the former congressman could not sue CNN, and another story where he suffered a legal setback.
One California politician who might have preferred to remain outside the spotlight was State Sen. Bob Hertzberg, who has been accused of giving out unwanted hugs. Though those allegations are years old, they resurfaced in 2022 amid Hertzberg’s Los Angeles County supervisor campaign as several Democratic women called him out for his behavior.
The bills you followed
California lawmakers deliberated over thousands of bills over the course of the 2021-22 legislative session, but some of those bills stood out among readers.
There was the bill to grant people legal protection from prosecution in the event of a pregnancy loss, which detractors falsely claimed would legalize infanticide.
Readers flocked to stories about lawmakers passing laws to expand Medi-Cal to all undocumented residents and also give them another way to get a California state ID.
Another high-traffic story was The Bee’s coverage of a new law that grants ex-offenders who stay out of trouble the ability to seal their criminal record.
A California law aimed at empowering workers in the fast food industry met with stiff resistance from restaurant franchise owners who say it’ll threaten their businesses, and readers avidly followed their efforts to block it.
And everything else
Bee readers want their money, and when California announced that inflation relief checks were on the way, The Bee was there to tell you when you could expect yours.
And when a student loan provider wiped out $1.7 billion in debt, readers were interested.
Many readers wondered why, after passing a ballot measure to end the practice of changing the clocks for Daylight Saving Time, we still had to set our clocks back this November. The Bee had an explanation.
It’s safe to say many Bee readers were interested when the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced that people can now take the driver’s knowledge test online.
Readers were keen on stories depicting California’s climate emergency.
They commiserated with people like Esther Johnson, who had to freeze pots of water overnight to provide some cooling inside her sweltering apartment during last summer’s crippling heat wave. Johnson is one of a quarter of Californians to live in a home with no air conditioning.
And readers responded to the shocking news that drought and wildfires have wiped out a third of Sierra Nevada forests.
This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 7:00 AM.