Inland Empire Progressive

There’s a familiar script unfolding in California politics from conservatives: lose election, cry fraud, and hope the outrage sticks longer than the facts. This time, it’s a sheriff-turned-gubernatorial candidate, Chad Bianco breathlessly alleging “discrepancies” in ballot counts—claims that are, at best, laughable and, at worst, a glaring conflict of interest from someone seeking to benefit politically from undermining the very system they hope to inherit. These allegations are not rooted in evidence. They’re rooted in strategy. County Registrars of Voters are not shadowy backrooms where ballots mysteriously appear or vanish. They are among the most safeguarded, audited, and transparent institutions in the country. Bipartisan observers monitor counts. Ballots are tracked, verified, and reverified. Machines are tested and retested. Paper trails exist precisely to counter the kind of baseless accusations now being hurled into the public sphere. If there were widespread discrepancies, th...

Back in 2012, Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic establishment were left stunned after a surprising result from the Inland Empire when Democrat Pete Aguilar the mayor of Redlands did not make the top two race in then 31st Congressional District. Two Republicans, Congressman Gary Miller and then-state senator Bob Dutton, ran, as did four Democrats, Pete Aguilar, Justin Kim, Renea Wickman and Rita Ramirez-Dean. Only the two republicans advanced after the June primary was done. During the general election, State senator Bob Dutton attempted to moderate himself but ended up losing to the better funded Gary Miller. After the loss the term 'Aguliared' was used among the Pelosi class of Democrats as a jest to Rep. Pete Aguilar for the results of the jungle primary. However, the outcome serves as a warning for the upcoming California governor’s race with eight Democratic candidates running: There is potential that the vote will split enough so that Republicans will advance to the general ...