Even blue California wants lower taxes and smaller government

CalMatters · Lynn La · September 4, 2026

Protesters gather to honor Alex Pretti, who federal immigration agents fatally shot in Minneapolis, in Sacramento on Jan. 28, 2026. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

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We live in a blue state that elects Democrats year after year. But a slim majority of us would prefer a smaller government and lower taxes.

That’s one of the key findings from an August report by the Public Policy Institute of California , which examines the varied political, ideological and economic dimensions among 46 distinct regions that make up California.

It could be meaningful this November when voters will see five ballot measures related to taxes, including the big one that would levy a one-time tax on billionaires to prop up healthcare spending.

The report found the majority of voters view immigrants as a benefit and support state action on climate change. A smaller majority, albeit a majority nonetheless, also prefers a state government that provides fewer services and lower taxes.

Eric McGhee , PPIC’s policy director and senior fellow: “It’s an interesting quirk of the state’s politics given how Democratic the state is.”

The report also documented a geographic shift in California conservatism. Orange County was once considered the birthplace of the state and country’s modern conservative movement. But now the conservative core is in the far north, the region that sometimes refers to itself as the State of Jefferson.

“This includes the suburbs northeast of Sacramento, but also the Red Bluff/Redding area, is the heart beat of conservatism in California today,” McGhee said.

The Bay Area is an outlier both politically and economically. The region leans more liberal than the rest of California, and is the most pessimistic about the broader economy. Yet, the affordability crisis isn’t hitting the region as hard as other parts of the state, with Bay Area respondents reporting the least amount of concern about paying their bills.

Join CalMatters on Sept. 15th in Sacramento for a conversation between author Gil Durán and political strategist Mike Madrid about Durán’s new book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy , which examines how the world’s richest men are building a new political order. A book signing and reception will follow. Register here .

Other Stories You Should Know

Wait, community colleges are against this now?

Students walk through the MiraCosta College campus in Oceanside on Sept. 26, 2024. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

Citing last-minute changes they do not agree with, California community colleges are opposing two bills they had once supported that aim to help them issue more bachelor’s degrees , writes CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn.

Community colleges have been trying for years to offer more bachelor’s degrees. Two bills on their way to the governor would introduce new mechanisms for determining when colleges can create bachelor’s degrees and how many they can offer. The proposals include accountability metrics, allowing colleges to offer additional degrees depending on student completion rates. Colleges would also need to prove that there’s a workforce need in their region to justify the creation of a bachelor’s degree.

Community college leaders backed the bills at first, but now are saying legislators adopted amendments that are too unclear and complicated. They take issue with the newly created caps on the number of degrees community college districts can offer, and the stipulation that districts’ student completion rates would be judged against the statewide average.

Read more .

Hospitals to pay for blowing state spending caps

Medical personnel working in Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister on March 30, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

California hospitals are crying foul over new state rules that would punish them for spending more money than a new healthcare affordability office allows, reports CalMatters’ Ana B. Ibarra.

The California Office of Health Care Affordability limits health providers from increasing spending by more than 3.5% a year. By restricting how much health entities can spend, the thinking goes, health costs will grow more slowly.

Last week the office approved a penalty framework that would require hospitals, insurers and medical groups to pay up to 125% of the total they spend over the cap.

Consumer advocates and experts say penalties allow the agency to hold the health industry accountable: 38% of Californians report having medical debt in 2024, and California health care costs increased 30% from 2015 to 2020.

But health industry leaders argue that the spending targets and penalties are too strict. They warn that limiting providers’ spending could force them to reduce services, which directly affect patient care.

Read more .

And lastly: ‘Deeply human’ journalism by CalMatters

Graphic by the CalMatters Visuals Team

The Online Journalism Awards honored CalMatters with two first-place awards in the global Online Journalism Awards.

CalMatters, with co-creators Evident Media and Bellingcat, won first place for “ Agents of Chaos: Tracking Border Patrol Operations Across the US ” for a digital video series, by a small or medium-sized newsroom. Judges praised the “innovative use of open-source videos.

And CalMatters won first place for “ License to Kill ” for explanatory reporting by a medium-sized newsroom. Judges recognized the project for “its ability to reveal systemic failures through deeply human stories.”

California Voices

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: As the election approaches, California officeholders and seekers remain mum on how they would respond to the state’s stubbornly high unemployment rate, which hasn’t fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic .

The data center boom presents Big Tech with a rare chance to rebuild public trust, and it must do so by embracing transparent planning, ensuring communities share in the benefits and accelerating clean energy deployment, writes Allison Agsten , director of the USC Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication.

Other things worth your time:

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Steve Hilton proposes paid family leave expansion funded by 10% workforce cut // The Sacramento Bee (gift link)

We’ve identified CA’s top 100 Roundup users. Some may surprise you // Mother Jones (free)

US judge bars EPA effort to send CA vehicle emissions rules to Congress // Reuters (paywall)

Behind the multimillion-dollar campaign to crush CA’s landmark plastics law // Los Angeles Times (paywall)

PG&E’s spending cut amid wildfire liability dispute is decried by watchdog as ‘blackmail’ // The Mercury News (gift link)

There are more homeless infants and toddlers in CA. What does this mean for early learning programs and schools? // EdSource (free)

Which investors will get rich from Anthropic’s IPO? // The New York TImes (gift link)

What idling in drive-thrus does San Joaquin Valley air quality // The Intersection (free)

These Bay Area residents have had balcony solar for a year. Here’s how it’s going // KQED (free)

LA Mayor Bass called to testify to Congress for fraud hearing on federal homelessness dollars // LAist (free)

The air marshals keeping watch on Eric Swalwell // The Atlantic (gift link)

Read the full story at CalMatters