California Dems In Tight House Races Back Tough-On-Crime Ballot Measure That Newsom Opposes

California Democrats in tight House races are backing a crime ballot measure despite Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom strongly opposing the initiative, according to the Los Angeles Times Thursday.

Although Newsom fiercely opposes Proposition 36, which increases penalties for retail and drug crimes, many Democrats in tight House races have thrown their support behind the measure, according to the L.A. Times. Proposition 36 is popular with the majority of Californians, with 73% of voters supporting the measure, according to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll conducted Oct. 7 to Oct. 15.

Newsom said the measure would cause “mass incarceration” and that it was an “insult,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. However, he also said that he does not have the “bandwidth” to actively campaign against the measure, according to the Sacramento Bee Sept. 20.

“I would think that a Republican opponent would love it if a Democratic candidate opposed Prop. 36 because it would make it very easy for them to paint them as soft on crime,” Jared Sichel, political strategist for Republican, conservative and independent candidates in Orange County told the Los Angeles Times. “If you are a Democrat that is opposed to Prop. 36, that will hurt you in November.”

Democratic House candidates who support Proposition 36 include Adam Gray in the 13th Congressional district, Will Rollins in the 41st district, Derek Tran in the 46th district, Rudy Salas in the 22nd district and Joe Kerr in the 40th district, according to the L.A. Times. Most of the races take place in districts with a “healthy mix of Republicans and Democrats,” Sichel told the L.A. Times.

For example, the 13th district race between Gray and Republican Scott Baugh is within 3 points, according to a WPA Intelligence poll published Oct. 20. The race for the 22nd district between Salas and Republican incumbent David Valadao is currently tied, according to a September Emerson College poll.

Proposition 36 comes in the wake of discontent with the results of the 2014 Proposition 47, which downgraded the penalties for drug possession and theft under $950 from felonies to misdemeanors. The incarceration rate fell 8% the two years after Proposition 47 passed, according to a September PPIC study.

Crime has been a persistent issue in the state, with overall crime up 1.7% in 2023 and up 15.4% since 2019, according to the PPIC. Out of all property crimes reported in 2023, 63% were larceny theft, 15% were burglaries and 22% were auto thefts.

The homeless population in California grew from 118,552 in 2013 to 181,399 in 2023. The number of camps in San Francisco reached its highest point since 2020 of 523 sites recorded in September 2023.

Proposition 36 would largely roll back Proposition 47’s reforms, upgrading drug possession and theft under $950 to felonies. It would also increase jail time for repeat retail theft, and make the possession of fentanyl a felony.

“I fear I can’t do everything. I’ve got, trying to get Kamala Harris elected President of the United States, trying to get through these 900 bills,” Newsom said in a Sept. 19 press conference according to the Bee. “I just pray, I really do, that people take a good look at Proposition 36.”

Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.