California Becomes More Blue, and Other Trends Heading into 2023

The California flag in Newport Beach, Calif., on Aug. 25, 2021. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Commentary

As 2022 is wrapping up, I thought I’d review some general trends in the news to see what California has in store for the new year.

Becoming Bluer

Democrats increased their single-party dominance over the state, picking up one seat each in the Assembly and state Senate. They did lose two seats from California in the U.S. Congress, one due to the state going from 53 seats to 52, the other to a Republican. But at the national level, Republicans expected so many more victories in an off-election year, when the incumbent party usually loses at least 30 seats, and with high inflation and the economy headed into recession.