Seema Mehta is a veteran political writer for the Los Angeles Times covering national and state politics, including the 2026 gubernatorial race. She has written about every presidential campaign since 2008, as well as multiple gubernatorial, Senate, congressional and mayoral races. Mehta was a 2018-19 Knight-Wallace fellow at the University of Michigan, where she studied how automation and artificial intelligence are indelibly changing the nation’s identity, policies and politics. The Syracuse University graduate and East Coast native swore when she joined The Times in 1998 that she would only spend a few years on the Left Coast. Many years, a husband, a house and a few cats later, she can’t imagine living somewhere she couldn’t golf year-round.
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Already a ripe target for Democrats in the next election, Central Valley Rep. David Valadao put his political future in deeper peril this week by voting in favor of legislation that slashes the Medicaid coverage essential to roughly two-thirds of his constituents.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris a favorite in governor’s race if she runs, according to new poll
Former Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t decided whether she will run for California governor next year, but a new poll released Wednesday shows that she would be a favorite of voters if she does.
Protestors railed on Tuesday against an Orange County congresswoman who could be a critical vote on President Trump’s proposal to cut more than $1 trillion in federal dollars that helped pay for healthcare for those in need.
Un niño de 13 años de Sun Valley que fue presuntamente asesinado por su entrenador de fútbol murió de intoxicación etílica aguda, según un abogado civil de la familia de la víctima.
A 13-year-old Sun Valley boy who was allegedly murdered by his soccer coach died of acute alcohol poisoning, according to a civil attorney for the victim’s family.
Wildfires in Riverside County prompted evacuations and road closures on Sunday afternoon as residents phoned 911 due to heavy, drifting smoke.
The Lake fire broke out in Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area in San Bernardino County, burning more than 400 acres and prompting evacuations and road closures in the region.
On Monday, veteran Sae Joon Park, who legally immigrated from South Korea when he was seven years old, flew back to his homeland under threat of deportation at the age of 55.
As former Vice President Kamala Harris weighs running for governor, her husband, attorney Doug Emhoff, will teach law at USC.