WASHINGTON (TNND) — With votes still being counted in several high-profile California races, Rep.-elect. James Gallagher, R-Calif., told The National News Desk that early returns suggest voters are looking for change in a state long dominated by Democrats.
Gallagher, a former minority leader in the California State Assembly, pointed to early results in the governor’s and Los Angeles mayoral contests. He told The National News Desk Steve Hilton was “number one right now” based on “the polls and the votes that have come in.” (TNND)
Gallagher, a former minority leader in the California State Assembly, pointed to early results in the governor’s and Los Angeles mayoral contests. He said Steve Hilton was “number one right now” based on “the polls and the votes that have come in.” He also said Spencer Pratt’s campaign in Los Angeles has gained attention and that Pratt was “getting really close to Karen Bass.”
“We’ll see how the rest of the votes, you know, come in,” Gallagher said. “But right now it looks really good. It seems like people are actually voting for change here in California.”
Gallagher described the governor’s ballot as crowded, saying there were “65 different candidates or something” and that voters were reacting to issues including homelessness, quality of life and what he called “rampant fraud in our programs.”
Asked whether the results amounted to a “red wave” or a “red mirage,” Gallagher criticized the pace of vote counting and raised concerns about mail ballots.
“It should be said, it’s ridiculous that it takes this long, you know, to count the ballots. It should go a lot faster,” he said, adding, “There are concerns about that, like what’s going on with all these mail ballots.”
Gallagher also referenced his own race, saying a newly drawn district was “supposed to be won by a Democrat,” but that his side was leading with 47% of the vote “amongst all the candidates.”
On election security, Gallagher said there have been “a lot of concerns” about California’s election process and claimed, “We know, for example, that a dog voted, you know, in Orange County. That’s a fact.” He said the broader question is whether such issues affect election outcomes, and argued for changes he said would strengthen election integrity.
“We need to have integrity in our elections,” Gallagher said. “We are going to have the opportunity to change that here in California in November. Voter ID is going to be on the ballot, and we’re seeing in the polls that it’s going to pass.”
Gallagher also addressed fraud in public programs after an exchange at an oversight hearing involving Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and questions about SNAP fraud data. Gallagher said fraud diverts money from people who need services.
“When money is fraudulently taken out of the system, that’s money they can’t get to the people who need it,” he said, citing Medi-Cal, health care clinics and hospice care. He also pointed to unemployment insurance fraud “over $30 billion worth during COVID,” and said a medical doctor “built the fraudulent build the system $270 million.”
He called for more cooperation between California and the federal government, saying, “The state should be cooperating with the federal government to ensure that those taxpayer dollars are getting to the people who need it most.”