California Democrats Have Made a Mess of the Governor’s Race

As the California Democratic Party gathered in San Francisco last month for its convention, reporters had a frequent question for the retiring political king- (and queen-) maker, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Was her state really on the verge of electing a Republican to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom, as a growing number of partisans had begun to fear?

“That’s not going to happen,” Pelosi said. “And everything that you should know about the Democrats this year is we are unified. As I say, our diversity is our strength, our unity is our power. And everybody knows that there’s too much at stake.”