This weekend’s California Republican Party convention was poised to be a drama-filled event. The party held out a slim hope that its two gubernatorial candidates, if they played nicely enough, could lock Democrats out of the November election and reclaim statewide office for the first time i…

Several hundred people gathered Monday night in northwest Bakersfield to see more than a dozen Republican candidates across a range of state positions.

During a visit to the heart of California’s oil patch, Democratic candidate for governor Katie Porter said Tuesday the state isn’t in a position to be decreasing its energy production, including from fossil fuels, but that it should still transition to 100% green energy.

Gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, a Democrat and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, will be in Bakersfield for a meet and greet at 2 p.m. today.

The field of candidates in the June 2 primary election has shaped up with the release this week of who will appear on Kern County ballots following the close of the filing period.

Want to know what your government is up to? Be prepared to pay up.

Locally elected Reps. Vince Fong and David Valadao celebrated word last week the federal Department of the Interior will spend $540 million shoring up California water infrastructure, including $200 million to help fix the Kern-Friant Canal after it was damaged by over-pumping of groundwater.

A forest management bill tracing its roots to former Rep. Kevin McCarthy was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives with a companion version introduced in the Senate by Democrat Alex Padilla.

The U.S. Senate is expected to take up legislation introduced by Rep. Vince Fong that, having passed the House of Representatives unanimously, could advance eastern Kern County’s aerospace industry by supporting the use of drones to help fight wildfires.

State Sen. Shannon Grove tore into the state librarian this week about what she said was $650,000 in “really, truly misappropriated” taxpayer money that was supposed to advance the work of a literacy nonprofit set up by country music star Dolly Parton.

Not long after Steve Clarke found out there was a push to require voter ID at the polls, he began canvassing for signatures in Sacramento.

California ag groups applauded this week’s advancement of a federal Farm Bill that would help the Central Valley’s specialty crops sector, even as critics contend the legislation fails the poor and general consumers.

Advocates of Kern County’s feral cat population successfully fended off a proposed ordinance banning feeding at county parks and facilities and came away with their own ad-hoc committee aimed at addressing the issue.

Neither Democratic candidate for the 22nd Congressional District secured an endorsement at the party’s convention in San Francisco over the weekend.

California Democrats this weekend in San Francisco have an opportunity to set the tone in a pivotal election year when their voters could decide control of the U.S. House.

A Sikh anti-discrimination bill introduced recently with the help of Rep. David Valadao would create a federal task force responsible for gathering anti-Sikh hate crime statistics, reporting the results annually to Congress and training schools and law enforcement on the subject.

There’s a crowded field in the race for California governor. More than 95 candidates have filed paperwork and there are about a dozen candidates pollsters think have a good chance of leading the Golden State.

California Democrats, hungry to retake the U.S. House, all agree they must defeat Central Valley Republican incumbent Rep. David Valadao.

Locally elected Republican Reps. Vince Fong and David Valadao expressed appreciation Feb. 11 for a federal move that effectively delayed significant changes to Medi-Cal until after the midterm elections.

Progressive Democrat Randy Villegas continues to out-raise the more centrist Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, but both remain far behind the Republican incumbent, U.S. Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford.

California Rep. David Valadao has some explaining to do.

Bakersfield Ward 7 City Councilwoman Manpreet Kaur has filed paperwork to run for California’s 16th Senate District seat, currently held by fellow Democrat Sen. Melissa Hurtado, but told The Californian Friday she hasn’t made a final decision on running.

California Democratic senators advanced a measure Tuesday that would make it easier for people to sue federal agents over civil rights violations, a bill shaped by fears of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices.

Retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on eastern Kern’s largest mineral export will become a focus next month as members of the county Board of Supervisors deliberate how to help one of the region’s major employers.

Ballots for California's June 2 Primary Election will be mailed in early May, and several candidates have already declared their intentions for various offices, in some cases leaving a vacancy in another elected office. 

A former member of the Kern County Young Republicans is alleging unfair exclusion and censorship of himself and other members, but party members say their one-time colleague turned radical and was expelled for making racist and antisemitic comments.

All eyes are on California’s 22nd Congressional District for 2026 but a few challengers have thrown their hats into the ring for Kern County’s other district, the 20th, held by Vince Fong.

The game of musical chairs in the race to be California’s next governor lost another player last week.

Longtime civil rights leader and valley activist Dolores Huerta threw her support behind 22nd Congressional District candidate Randy Villegas during a news conference in southeast Bakersfield early Wednesday morning.

California’s Secretary of State Shirley Weber said most of the concerns she hears from citizens regarding elections tend to be unfounded.

Rep. Vince Fong issued a strongly-worded statement Tuesday night as Proposition 50 passed, warning of what he sees as its impact on California, especially rural communities.

California voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s measure that allows the state to redraw its congressional map in favor of Democrats, pushing back against President Donald Trump’s effort to hold onto a Republican-controlled Congress by urging redistricting in Texas.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Tuesday as Californians are set to decide on Proposition 50, a proposal to temporarily redraw the state’s Congressional districts.

McFarland Mayor Saul Ayon announced Wednesday he is running for the 35th Assembly District seat being vacated by Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano.

As in-person voting begins in California’s special election on redistricting, Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly asserted that the Trump administration could send immigration agents to polling places in an attempt to intimidate voters and depress turnout.

California, listen up: Former President Barack Obama wants you to know that the whole nation is counting on you this November.

Prominent members of Kern County’s Sikh community are criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of a bill that would have helped counter transnational repression — notably by the Indian government — by requiring new training for California law enforcement agencies.

A discussion of transgender athletes in local sports turned tense this week as a resolution on federal Title IX protections for girls divided the Kern High School District Board of Trustees.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill authored by Bakersfield Democrat Sen. Melissa Hurtado that increases penalties for antitrust law violations.

Along the highways of California’s San Joaquin Valley, as field workers harvest almonds and pistachios and tractors churn dusty top soil into the already hazy air, drivers can’t miss the giant yellow billboards.

Ballots for the Nov. 4 Special Election for Proposition 50 — a proposal to temporarily redraw the state’s Congressional districts — were mailed to Kern County voters Monday.

Rep. Vince Fong called on Central Valley industry and educational institutions to embrace artificial intelligence, albeit with regulatory guardrails, during a keynote speech at Thursday’s inaugural NextTech Kern conference.

The U.S. government shut down Wednesday, but in Kern County it may have been hard to tell.

A town hall on Proposition 50 failed to attract many townspeople Monday evening, but organizers were undaunted.

John Lauretig remembers the filthy bathrooms, the overflowing trash cans and the community of people who rallied to clean up Joshua Tree National Park the last time the U.S. government shut down.

After less than a year as a state lawmaker, Assemblyman Stan Ellis, R-Bakersfield, said Friday he won’t seek reelection in 2026, endorsing Kern County Supervisor David Couch as his successor, who later in the day said he’s running.

Expanding oil production in Kern County won’t be enough by itself to stabilize California’s energy supply, Rep. Vince Fong told local business people during a presentation highlighting his work toward federal incentives for refiners while calling for an overhaul of state regulations.

In a vote along party lines, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved a draft resolution opposing Proposition 50, the redistricting ballot initiative heading to California voters this November.

Kern County officials took a victory lap Monday to celebrate the signing of a bill allowing increased oil production in the county, which advocates said will bring good-paying jobs and tax revenues to local communities.