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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The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, who may run for California governor, makes surprise speech at Dana Point business conference and criticizes President Trump’s policies.
Xavier Becerra, who served as California attorney general, joined a growing field of Democrats running next year to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The firm that employs former Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband is the latest legal powerhouse to agree to terms with President Trump — moves that worry some attorneys and constitutional scholars.
The attorney general has selected Riverside County Assemblymember Bill Essayli — a rising and controversial Republican voice — to serve as interim U.S. attorney for L.A. and surrounding areas.
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will allow mountain lions, bobcats and other wildlife to travel between the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains over a 10-lane freeway.
Weather forecasters expect a quarter- to a half-inch of precipitation Sunday and Monday, likely not enough to affect wildfire burn areas.
Four California Republicans in the House of Representatives are on the target list of a prominent Democratic group preparing for the 2026 election.
The California Republican Party made slight gains in California, attracting more new voters than the Democrats, but can that continue after Trump
More than a dozen federal buildings in California were listed by the Trump administration as potentially disposable. The list was posted and then taken down.
Porter focused on protecting Californians from President Trump’s policies, a theme that is expected to be a throughline in next year’s gubernatorial contest.