SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Political analyst Mike Luery joined KCRA 3 on Wednesday to share his takeaways about the voting results so far from midterm elections.
Luery talked about the “Blue Wave” favoring the Democratic Party at the polls, some of the factors that led to it and how California is impacted.
“President Trump said ‘pretend that I am on that ballot’ and voters took that to heart, because they don’t like what the president has been offering in terms of relief,” Luery said, detailing how these results may have been a product of displeasure with the war in Iran, gas prices and cost of living.
As it pertains to California, Luery said redistricting led to Democratic candidates benefitting from a demographic change in less areas. He named areas like Folsom, Rocklin and Roseville as places that are subject to becoming more blue this election because new congressional lines.
California Governor-elect Xavier Becerra will be stepping in to his position with a Democratic-controlled Congress.
Luery said Gov. Gavin Newsom has been “the foil” to the Trump administration and Republicans during his tenure, but Becerra will likely be focusing on California.
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“He’s talking about ‘taking care of business’ and working with the Legislature,” Luery said. “We’re hearing some talk possibly about a mileage tax, as opposed to a gas tax, which would be controversial. There’s a lot of infrastructure and blocks to be changing around at the Capitol, so it will be interesting to watch what happens.”
Luery said that it’s important for Democrats to focus on key issues voters care about if they want to best position themselves for 2028.
“There’s a lot of pull within the party to have hearings and have the ‘retribution and revenge tour,’ but a lot of [Democrats] are saying also that they need focus on kitchen issues,” Luery said. “They really have to make things better for people at home.”
Luery listed affordability, gas and AI regulation as key points for voters.
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