Josh Harder did more than upset incumbent Republican Congressman Jeff Denham in 2018, he also upset the conventional wisdom. Prior to Harder’s win, Valley Democrats were barely distinguishable from Republicans. The conventional wisdom said that in one of the reddest regions in the state, Democrats could win only by fending off competition from the right, hence the cloning of the “Blue Dog” Democrat, a political species so adept at mimicry it often drew nearly as much support from the right as from the left.
Though he was predictably accused of allegiance to limousine liberals like Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein, Harder was actually someone entirely different. He was a Democrat in the almost forgotten tradition of Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, all of whom drew support from labor, small businesspeople, educators, public servants, and an increasing cohort of women voters.
Harder’s willingness to fight for this forgotten middle class constituency became evident as he applied his enormous capacity for work to a campaign that grew more inclusive almost by the day. His background of business success and training, including an MBA from Harvard, gave him more than enough credibility to fend off accusations about “tax and spend” liberals and it soon became clear to a majority of voters that the Valley’s long-forgotten middle class majority finally had an advocate ready to bring its concerns and values to Washington D.C.
Harder’s success in Congress includes recognition from the American Chamber of Commerce when it gave him the “Abraham Lincoln Award for Leadership” in honor of his support for our free enterprise system. What Congressman Harder knows and too many politicians have forgotten is that a strong economy depends more on a flourishing middle class than on a “donor class” of giant corporations and tax-evading billionaires.
Though he wasn’t successful against Republican incumbent Devin Nunes, Andrew Janz was another Democrat who marked a tectonic shift in the Valley’s political landscape in 2018. Janz showed that a Valley Democrat could mount a credible campaign even against an incumbent Republican with unlimited funding from the corporate donor class. Janz raised over $9 million dollars of grassroots support, the most in the country for any challenger to an incumbent member of Congress.
Now, as redistricting presents new opportunities for political change in the Valley, Democrat Phil Arballo is mounting yet another challenge to the local conventional wisdom. Arballo has announced he will be challenging Adam Gray in newly designated California Congressional District 13.
Gray has an immediate advantage in terms of name recognition and long-term occupancy in the California State Assembly, but he’s going to have to answer some difficult questions about his party affiliation, questions most Valley Democrats have never faced.
Like Andrew Janz, Democrat Phil Arballo lost a race against Devin Nunes while showing a special talent for raising money and framing issues. Now, Arballo will force Adam Gray to explain his dependence on corporate donors like Big Tobacco, Big Oil, and Big Pharma. Gray, a nominal Democrat, will also have to explain why he joined state Republicans in voting against California’s minimum wage increase proposal in 2016.
In a region where people punished by rising rents and stagnant incomes have had little to no representation at the state and federal level, candidates like Phil Arballo offer a real alternative to the “Blue Dog” option. And in a Valley where air pollution from carbon emissions presents a daily threat to public health, politicians from any party should be required to explain their dependence on donations from Big Oil.
Phil Arballo may be an underdog against a well-entrenched candidate with a big head start in money and endorsements, but he’s already performed a great public service by reminding people that the Democratic Party can once again stand for working America and its long-neglected middle class. Valley voters should watch him closely.
Can we get any Democrat not named Barkley to run in the new 5th congressional district against McClintock, the likely GOP candidate? Any Democrat!
There was a rumor that former NASA astronaut José Hernández had pulled papers & would run against Josh Harder in the Stockton/San Joaquín Congressional district. I hope that does NOT happen. However, I would be pleased if Mr. Hernández would toss his hat in the ring to run against McClintock. I can’t think of anyone else who might want to try. What is Susan Eggman doing? She’s impressive at the state level.
I will be watching , Eric. We all need to make it our personal and community business to be watching each and every one who throws their hat in the ring. Let us this time around, not just vote for a party, let us really scrutinize these campaigners. As we have seen in the distant and recent past, people do not often adhere to their own campaign speeches, no matter what the party. It has been to darn easy to win an election, simply by our imagining that they will do for us what they ought to do. I am all for the underdog, but most well-entrenched candidates did not start off well-entrenched. It is a slippery slope.
Call me jaded, but we need to keep our promises to whom ever runs and where ever they run from, that this time around we are not going to be pushovers. We have all fallen for picking the lesser of two evils. Surely that is not what we need to be selling ourselves short to. We need not be like junk car buyers, who kick the tires once or twice and call it good. Many of us need to break out of our old easy peasy voting habits. We cannot afford the luxury of picking a candidate to vote for just because it feels right. We need to be: well educated on issues, certain what our values are, and pick wisely who it is that is genuine.
Neither the poverty struck, “the long-neglected middle class, the Big Industrial Complex freaks, or the Corporations who groupthink themselves to be elites (simply because they have wiggled and squirmed their way into running the government, who have long proven themselves ignorant), can afford to interpret or predict things the same old, same old way. I want to hear from some trailblazers who can explain in detail what their plan is. If anyone does not have a well thought out feasible plan to change how things need to change, to actually work, then they do not deserve to waste our precious time, and they will not earn our precious vote. This is not a dress rehearsal. This is life running out of time to correct all that is wrong.
If you are going to run, whoever you are, no matter how much grassroots’ money you managed to raise, do not try to sell me easy. You will have some consistent explaining to do before you get my vote. And I hope I speak for the rest of the voters, who ought to have learned valuable lessons, on who said what to get elected and who did not keep their words. This nation is as good as at war with itself. Everything is so partisan and gridlocked. I do not want to be pandered to. Save your poppy cock stories for those who want to hear it. I want the solid details not the hand shakes and phony smiles. Not the spin.
Any one who says they are a worthy contender over another candidate, of course, is very likely to gain backers, the right kind and the wrong kind. It will not tickle my fancy to hear you or others tell me you have been for, and will be for, the working Californians and Americans. Be ready to tell me how you are going to pull it off. And be ready to pull it off. Yes, it is a lot to chew, but if you bit it off, you own it.
I want someone who has no moss growing on him or her. Someone, wait for it, like Kevin Kiley, California Assembly office holder, since 2017, who is unquestionably intelligent, knowledgeable, articulate; who already has some years of practice under his belt. He is a like a walking, talking encyclopedia of California legislature. For you democrats try to forget for the time being that he is a Republican. I point him out because of how he lit up the debate stage, during the Governor Gavin Newson recall. I know Democrats think I just broke a cardinal sin or worse. You cannot tell me that if that young man was standing for what Democrats want that he would not have been very impressive.
I am not a Republican. Yet, I do know what type of youthful exuberance: the quality of being full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness, I want to witness, in every candidate for every office all across California and the USA. His ebullience: the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts or feelings was unmistakable, impressive, and truly showed that he did his homework. I did not hear a question come up that he did not have a thorough answer for. I never saw a single shoulder shrug.
If anyone wants to take the time to research Kevin Kiley to watch him in action, I encourage you to do so. He may not say what you want him to say but at the very least give him credit where credit is due. That young man knew his subject matter, inside out and backwards. I do not care what party any Valley Citizen readers are, who will read this. What I do care about, for this post reply, is that I am able to get my point across to convince readers that we not only want, but we need, people who can duplicate Kevin Kiley’s initiative and his hunger to know how to tell us what he knows and what he stands for. I am not suggesting that you like anything that he said. Maybe you do like what he said. I am not here to convince anyone who to vote for.
But I am here to convince everyone that we need young men and women, who like Kevin Kiley, can reach out and show us what they are about, and what they have on their minds, rather than pussy foot around.
I am tired of the tired old campaign slogans: “I will work for the working class.” Yeah, what else are you capable of working for. There are so many neglected issues out there to pick from, that I do not want to hear someone rattle off only a few. I want to know that you have well thought out answers, even if some may not fly. Thus, if Phil Arballo can convince me that he has the answers we are all looking for, then let it be so. This time Valley Citizens should watch each and every candidate closely. No snow jobs allowed.
Evidently the Democratic party has endorsed Mike Barkley because of a lack of other candidates for CD 5. They apparently have written off CD 5. Good question why Gray voted against 15 Dollars an hour for workers. It’s apparent he does not have to live on that amount. He’s not much for the environment either. Hernandez would be good for CD 13 or CD 5, but not against Harder in Stockton CD. That would be a loss for the Democratic party and the people. With candidates like EGGMAN and Hernandez still here what is the party waiting for?
Diane M Kroeze: I agree that it’s discouraging to see Democrats in such disarray. Hernandez is far better suited to run against McClintock than Harder and Eggman would also be another strong option, as you say. Someone needs to talk Jose down from whatever crazed notion suggested he run against Josh Harder.
Diane M Kroeze: I agree that it’s discouraging to see Democrats in such disarray. Hernandez is far better suited to run against McClintock than Harder and Eggman would also be another strong option, as you say. Someone needs to talk Jose down from whatever crazed notion suggested he run against Josh Harder.
It’s clear to me that once again the California State Democratic Party has written off Stanislaus County. Their failure to recruit a suitable candidate for CD 5 is political malpractice. Frankly I am enraged. I, along with many others, watched for over 25 years as this county was represented in Congress by a series of Republicans and pseudo-Democrats. Repeatedly I saw the Democratic Party send us mediocre candidates and fail to support them So the result was pols who didn’t represent me or my values. In 2018, I leapt at the chance to take on Jeff Denham. Finally the Democratic Party was noticing us! I worked diligently to oust Denham and replace him with Harder. Now they’re not even bothering to recruit anyone. I feel cheated.
I feel much the same about having a candidate strong enough to oust Jeff Denham. Josh Harder showed what can be done, but too many people have given up after losing Josh to another district. We know Dems can win when they act like Dems; we need the Dem Party but we also need to keep working to get more people out.