It's All Political

Sen. Amy Klobuchar positions herself as the centrist in the presidential field. So how can a centrist Midwesterner win votes in left-leaning California? We talk with Klobuchar after an appearance in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Yang is the candidate you’ve never heard of, but soon will. The New York technology investor has raised enough grassroots donations to make it onto the first debate. Plus, he’s got a lot of ideas ($1,000 a month to every American, free marriage counseling, etc.) to open your eyes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chair of the California Democratic delegation and an immigration subcommittee, is settling in as the head of the often under-the-radar House Administration Committee — a role nicknamed “mayor of Capitol Hill.” It’s All Political caught up with her to talk about her new roles in the Democratic majority and what she’s looking forward to this Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In many ways, Sen. Kamala Harris sounds like a typical presidential candidate. But other times, she talks about inspirational/aspirational themes that are unusual for a political campaign. San Francisco Chronicle Washington correspondent Tal Kopan and Joe Garofoli talk about the inspirational — and policy — points that Harris is making during her campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand explains why she would be OK debating on Fox News -- unlike the DNC, which has banned the network from hosting its debates -- and why the Green New Deal is a good thing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Eric Swalwell is a rising star in the Democratic Party with key seats on the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees. But he is ready to leave his safe Congressional seat for a longshot run for president. He explains why -- and what perspective that he, as a Millennial, has that his opponents don’t. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We chat with South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg. HIs resume is impressive: Harvard, Rhodes Scholar, combat veteran, mayor. But how can you leap from being the mayor of a city that’s smaller than most suburbs to being leader of the free world? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk with Steve Frank, Travis Allen, and Jessica Millan Patterson, the three people running to be the next chair of the California Republican Party. What are they going to do to revive a party that has become virtually impotent in the nation’s largest state? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk with San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting, chair of the powerful Budget Committee, about California Gov. Gavin Newsom's ambitious agenda. Sure the state is flush -- until the next recession -- with a $21 billion budget surplus. But can it afford everything Newsom wants? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Pramila Jayapal is a rising star in the Democratic Party and one of the nation’s leading progressive voices. The Washington state House member is on on Judiciary Committee and a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. We talk to her about the direction of the party and whether it is going too far left -- on impeachment, single payer health care and taxing the wealthy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former East Bay Assemblymember Catherine Baker was the only Republican to represent the Bay Area in the Legislature or Congress until she lost last November. But if she can’t win -- she pro-choice, pro-environment and pro-gun control - what Republican can? We talk to her as Gov. Newsom installs an even more progressive agenda than Jerry Brown, the Democrat super-duper majority grows in the Legislature and The California Republican Party is about to elect a new leader.  What is the path forward for the GOP? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks to Joe Garofoli about the fight with President Donald Trump over the border wall, the 2020 presidential field — and how we might be on the brink of a new nuclear arms race.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee was recently named co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. She joined “It’s All Political” to talk about making sure people of color have a seat at the table as policymakers chart the future of marijuana in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk with Sophia Andary, co-chair of Women's March San Francisco about how Saturday’s Women’s March is still important. It’s not about Trump — even though he will be invoked by all the speakers and marchers. It’s about something more than him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kamala Harris is about to announce her candidacy for president, but what has she accomplished as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and now U.S. Senator? We talk with Chronicle Washington, D.C. correspondent Tal Kopan, who just analyzed Harris’ Senate record and Chronicle editorial page editor and longtime Harris watcher John Diaz, who reviewed her new memoir, “The Truths We Hold.” And Joe, who has covered her campaigns and written about her appearance Saturday in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

West Virginia State Sen. Richard Ojeda ran for Congress in 2018 and lost. And now he's running for president. Why would a Democrat who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and couldn't win a House race do that? For one thing, he made a strong run in a House district that Trump won by nearly 50 points. For another, he might be the most progressive Dem in the field. Joe Garofoli talks to a decorated former Army major, and a major wild card in the 2020 campaign.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rest of the state and the country will get to know San Francisco’s former supervisor and mayor a lot better after he’s inaugurated as California’s governor, but the Bay Area’s been familiar with him for a couple of decades now. In October, then-candidate Newsom talked to Joe Garofoli about his Bay Area upbringing — not as privileged as you might think — his dyslexia and his relationship with outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miriam Pawel, author of "The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty that Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation," joins Joe Garofoli to talk about Gov. Jerry Brown's legacy — a word he hates. Brown was the youngest, the oldest and the longest-serving governor in California history. His father, Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, was also governor, and Pawel's biography of the family is a panoramic history of the state going all the way back to the Gold Rush.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Dianne Feinstein offers a rare look at how tragedy, death and illness shaped her. In this episode from April 3, 2018, the longtime senator talks with Joe Garofoli about growing up in San Francisco and her time in local politics — including the time she lost a bet while serving as mayor and had to wear a bathing suit to a public event.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julian Castro, the former Housing and Urban Development Secretary and mayor of San Antonio, has just announced—via his twin brother Joaquin on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert"—that he's running for president in 2020. That was already pretty clear in October when he talked to Joe Garofoli for an episode of "It's All Political." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices