San Francisco mayor says Harris replacement pick 'a real blow to the African American community'

[Retrograde]

69. 40 million people in California

leave out the non-citizens and those under 30 and there are conservatively 25 million people eligible for the single seat. No matter who gets chosen, a lot of people are going to be disappointed, especially those like Mayor Breed who supposedly were on the short list.

Democrats need to learn to think strategically - or at least more of them do. First, Newsom was not going to undermine Pelosi by pulling someone out of the House, no matter how "safe" their seat appeared: that seat would at best remain vacant until a special election in several months, cutting the already thin margin even finer. Second, whoever gets the seat will have to defend in in 2022, which suggests a candidate with a proven state-wide track record. As I've posted before, Padilla fits both of these criteria.