John Wildermuth
SF Chronicle
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Past articles by John:
California GOP rallies from 'blue wave' election of 2018 as Republican wins House race
California Republicans have taken back four of the seven congressional seats they lost in the “blue wave” election of 2018, narrowing the Democrats’ already tight majority in the House. → Read More
Donald Trump was all about Donald Trump, from start to finish
Whether it was a multibillion-dollar ongoing business, a history of some 3,500 lawsuits, six bankruptcies to clear billions of dollars of debt, or reported post-affair payoffs to an adult movie star and a former Playboy model, Donald Trump violated every norm expected of politicians — and largely got away with it. → Read More
Prop. 18: California measure giving 17-year-olds the vote in some elections trails badly
Supporters argued that the measure was needed for teenagers who will be old enough to vote in the general election because voting should be based on the full election cycle, including primaries. → Read More
Bay Area election day’s big mystery: How many people will vote in person?
When Bay Area residents go to the polls Tuesday to vote, there won’t be nearly as many of them as usual. More than 60% of the region’s nearly 4.5 million registered voters had already cast ballots by Monday morning. → Read More
California’s Prop. 13 overhaul losing ground in new poll; affirmative action initiative trails
Opposition is growing to Proposition 15, which would allow regular tax increases for commercial and industrial property, and support has slipped below the hallmark 50% level in a new statewide poll. → Read More
Many Californians aren't eager to get coronavirus vaccine, poll finds
Only a quarter of California adults say they would definitely get a vaccine against COVID-19 if one was available today, a new survey found, an early warning of what could be problems in stemming the pandemic that already has killed more than 17,000 in the state. Black people, who have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, are the least likely to say they’ll take the vaccine. → Read More
Should 17-year-olds get the vote? Californians will decide
Proposition 18 would allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries and special elections if they will be 18 by the date of the general election. Supporters argue that it’s only fair that young people should have a say in who will be on the ballot when they vote in November while opponents say there’s no need to lower the voting age for anyone. → Read More
You can still vote in person, starting now. Here's how S.F. is doing it
The open-air voting booths set up for business Monday in front of San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium are an indication of just how the coronavirus has affected the 2020 presidential election. Ballots are in the mail all of California’s more than 21.2 registered voters as the state tries to make it easier — and safer —to cast ballots in the Nov. 3 without going to a polling place. → Read More
Nancy Pelosi, Shahid Buttar don’t have statements in S.F. voter guide. Here’s why
San Francisco’s voter information pamphlet for the Nov. 3 election is missing some familiar names, for a variety of reasons. → Read More
Trump tries to kill presidential debates, and other takeaways from a debacle
The first presidential debate was a lot like America these days: Two people talking over each other, nobody able to moderate them, and little of substance to be gained at the end of the night. → Read More
Trump-Biden debate: In year of virus, a rare moment of normal politics
When President Trump and challenger Joe Biden walk on stage Tuesday, they won’t expect to change anyone’s mind in the first of three debates. With only five weeks left before election day, and balloting in some states already under way, there aren’t many people who haven’t decided how they’ll vote. → Read More
California Rep. Katie Porter was a prime GOP election target, but she’s not breaking a sweat
Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine may have been listed as a prime target for Republicans looking to flip her seat back to the GOP, but the UC Irvine law professor appears confident about her re-election. → Read More
California’s affirmative action repeal trails badly in poll; Prop. 13 revision leading
California voters are strongly opposed to lifting the 24-year-old restrictions on affirmative action, but seem willing to make major revisions to 1978’s Proposition 13, a new poll indicates. → Read More
It's a different type of GOP convention, but it's working for California Republicans
California Republicans say the scaled-down, made-for-TV GOP convention has resulted in a loss of some of the traditional energy and excitement. But it’s also succeeding in new ways, they believe. → Read More
Here's how much money is flowing into California ballot campaigns
Millions of dollars flowed into California’s 12 initiative campaigns in the quarter ending June 30, with the biggest contribution going to Proposition 21, a measure supporting rent control. → Read More
What’s in a name? Everything, unhappy California initiative backers say as they sue state
Campaigns in four of the 12 initiative measures in California’s November election have sued state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, charging that his office wasn’t fair and neutral when it prepared the titles and summaries that will appear on the ballot. → Read More
Former Supervisor Harry Britt dies — helped solidify gay political power in SF
When Harry Britt was appointed to replace the assassinated Harvey Milk on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors in 1979, he never tried to be the same type of charismatic gay leader as his friend and mentor. But during his 14 years on the board, Britt, who died Wednesday at the age of 82, helped to solidly entrench the gay and progressive communities into the mainstream of the city’s politics,… → Read More
Here's where California's biggest police group spends its political money
The 77,000-member Peace Officers Research Association of California spreads its political contributions widely. It supports both Democrats and Republicans in races ranging from city council and county supervisor to the Legislature and the governor. → Read More
California election blowout boosts GOP confidence about November
GOP businessman Mike Garcia’s surprisingly easy win in a California congressional runoff election Tuesday provided a welcome spark of life for Republicans across the country and a warning light for Democrats anxious to keep control of the House. → Read More
How masks to fight coronavirus became a battleground between Democrats and Republicans
Face masks, recommended by public health officials as a way to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus, have become the latest battleground of the partisan war between the nation’s Republicans and Democrats. → Read More