CALIFORNIA/DEMS/ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Donald Trump’s shadow loomed large in California’s only scheduled gubernatorial debate Monday [10-8-18], with Democrat Gavin Newsom insisting his GOP opponent threatened to advance the policies of ‘Trump and Trumpism’’ and Republican John Cox repeatedly sidestepping efforts to link him with the president who has enthusiastically endorsed his campaign. Cox, a multi-millionaire businessman, cast the Democratic lieutenant governor as a member of the ‘political class’ who’s been ‘backed by billionaires’ and portrayed himself as the change agent best positioned to represent ‘average’ Californians strapped by high taxes, a declining quality of life and a failing education system…But in a series of sharp exchanges, Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, argued that he is the only candidate in the race who has the experience and detailed policies that would address ‘the issue of wealth disparity and social inequality’’ in California, which is both the world’s fifth-largest economy and the state with the highest level of poverty. ‘The difference between myself and my opponent John Cox is that we actually have plans and strategies’ to address those issues, Newsom said.”
–Carla Marinucci, “Trump’s shadow hangs over California governor’s debate,” Politico, October 8, 2018 5:45 pm