While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Michael R. Blood, The Associated Press.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Just three months after declaring "I'm not quitting," California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa announced Friday he is retiring instead of facing a difficult reelection campaign in a redrawn district.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fearful that an election quirk could result in heavily Democratic California installing a Republican as its next governor, a top Democrat on Tuesday sent his party's lagging candidates a blunt message: Get out of the race.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If politicians write memoirs to generate online buzz and headlines, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting plenty of both -- favorable and not.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- As national Democrats search for a unifying theme ahead of the fall's midterm elections, a California proposal to levy a hefty tax on billionaires is turning some of the party's leading figures into adversaries just when Democrats can least afford division from within.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- How many Democrats are too many?
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is heading into a challenging reelection bid as she continues to suffer fallout from last year's devastating wildfire and ongoing criticism of City Hall on issues from street paving to homelessness.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- After flirting with the idea of leaving California to run for Congress in Texas, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa said Thursday he's staying put.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The redrawing of California's congressional map to boost Democrats' chances has left Republicans scrambling for political survival. Some are digging in for tough races, but one is considering a particularly audacious step -- moving to Texas.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The race for California governor features former presidential wannabes, a county sheriff, two women who could become the first female to hold the office, House members current and former, an ex-Cabinet secretary and at least one billionaire with another in the wings. The contest has been singed by scandal and witnessed one campaign nearly melt down.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 's decision to step aside after nearly four decades in Congress kicks off a wide-open contest to replace her at a time when her home city of San Francisco is roiled in debate about the cost of living and what its future should look like.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Less than two weeks from Election Day, the fight over new California U.S. House maps that could erase up to five Republican seats is starting to look like a lopsided match-up, with opponents running low on campaign ads and options.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Barack Obama is entering the fight for U.S. House control by appearing in a 30-second ad urging California voters to approve a November ballot proposal that could add as many as five Democrat-held House seats in California.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Katie Porter is fighting back.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter gained a reputation on Capitol Hill for grilling corporate executives at House hearings, white board in hand. But it was Porter -- now a candidate for California governor -- who found herself growing edgy under questioning by a TV reporter, and even threatening to walk out.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The midterm elections might be a year away, but the fight for control of the U.S. House is underway in California.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposal on the Nov. 4 ballot to reshape California's U.S. House districts to add five Democratic seats in advance of the 2026 midterm elections is not a sure sale with voters, even in a state where Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday entered the national battle over U.S. House control, urging voters to reject a California ballot proposal to rejigger districts that he said would erode democratic principles and allow politicians to "take the power away from the people."
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Gavin Newsom is having a moment.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California Democrats are considering new political maps that could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California Democrats are considering new political maps that could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- After months of uncertainty, the race to become California's next governor started Thursday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former Vice President Kamala Harris will not run for California governor next year, leaving open the possibility that she could mount a third run for the White House in 2028.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Vice President JD Vance on Friday accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of encouraging violent immigration protests as he used his appearance in Los Angeles to rebut criticism from state and local officials that the Trump administration fueled the unrest by sending in federal officers.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Many of Kamala Harris' supporters and detractors alike think she'd have better odds running for California governor rather than president a third time.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former Vice President Kamala Harris plans to use a high-profile speech Wednesday to sharply criticize President Donald Trump amid speculation about whether she will mount another presidential campaign or opt to run for California governor.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday proposed laying off more than 1,600 government workers in an attempt to close a nearly $1 billion budget gap amid a slumping economy while the city contends with the costly job of rebuilding a seaside neighborhood leveled in a January wildfire.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In the fight for the U.S. House, Democrats are hoping pop rock star power will help oust a long-serving Republican east of Los Angeles as the party looks to regain control of the chamber and slow President Donald Trump's agenda.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In the fight for the U.S. House, Democrats are hoping pop rock star power will help oust a long-serving Republican east of Los Angeles as the party looks to regain control of the chamber and slow President Donald Trump's agenda.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former Biden administration Health Secretary Xavier Becerra on Wednesday became the latest Democrat to join the crowded field seeking to become California's next governor, a contest that could be dramatically reshaped if former Vice President Kamala Harris becomes a candidate.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former Democratic U.S. House member Katie Porter announced Tuesday that she is entering the 2026 contest for California governor, joining a crowded field of candidates that could be upended if former Vice President Kamala Harris joins the race.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Democrats and Republicans agreed on at least one thing before November's election: California would play a central role in determining control of the U.S. House.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Democrat Adam Gray captured California's 13th Congressional District on Tuesday, unseating Republican Rep. John Duarte in the final U.S. House contest to be decided this year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel in a Southern California House district Wednesday that was specifically drawn to give Asian Americans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Republicans and Democrats awaited the outcome of vote-counting for crucial U.S. House districts in California on Wednesday, as the GOP clinched majority control of the chamber next year with a race call in neighboring Arizona.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Republicans and Democrats awaited the outcome of vote-counting for crucial U.S. House districts in California on Wednesday, as the GOP moved within one win of maintaining control of the chamber next year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Republican Scott Baugh has conceded in his race against Democrat Dave Min in a Southern California U.S. House district, ending his bid to seize the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Republican Rep. David Valadao has won reelection in California's 22nd Congressional District, defeating Democrat Rudy Salas for the second time.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia, the last Republican congressman anchored in heavily Democratic Los Angeles County, on Monday conceded to Democrat George Whitesides, ending his reelection bid in a district north of Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Rival candidates were closely matched Tuesday in a string of hotly contested U.S. House districts in California, where the outcome could be crucial in determining which party controls the chamber next year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff won the California U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday after a lopsided, low-key contest.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Republicans have been fading away in California for years, but the state has emerged again as an unlikely national battleground with the GOP dueling over a string of U.S. House seats that could be crucial to determining which party controls the chamber next year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Californians are voting Tuesday to fill the U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein after a low-key contest dominated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With the presidency on the line in battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, why would Donald Trump venture into California, one of the most solidly Democratic states, just weeks before Election Day?
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California's reputation as a hothouse of progressive politics is being tested in a string of U.S. House contests that are again expected to play into which party controls the chamber next year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey is making a late-hour push for Latino support in his longshot U.S. Senate campaign against Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for the California seat long held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In his first solo appearance as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz warned cheering union members Tuesday that Donald Trump would wage war on working people and threaten Medicare and Social Security as he kicked off a five-state fundraising swing.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles is the nation's epicenter of homelessness, where more than 45,000 people live in weather-beaten tent encampments and rusting RVs. But even in the state that is home to Silicon Valley, technology has not kept up with the long-running crisis.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A county sheriff suspended his campaign Monday for a California U.S. House seat once held by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and endorsed a fellow Republican, Rep. Vince Fong, who captured a May special election to fill out the remainder of McCarthy's term.