California’s increasing crime problem could make Democrats vulnerable.
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that political analysts have noticed that voters are more concerned about crime as we approach the November elections. The issue was exacerbated when California Senate Candidate Rep. Adam Schiff and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass were both victims of burglary.
Darry Sragow has worked for the L.A. Times as a Democratic Strategist for many years. “Voters are thinking: You’ve got to be kidding me”.
Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California admitted that despite the fact the report described the crimes as “ready ammunition for Republican critics”, who regularly lambast California’s approach to public safety, crime is “definitely” a major issue in voters’ minds right now. ”
Baldassare’s research found that between December 2023 and February 2019, the percentage of voters who considered crime to be their number one issue increased from 8 to 12 percent. The growth was most noticeable among independent voters. Crime is now the number one issue for 17% of voters.
Baldassare said that “crime does not have to be a major issue — just a couple of things can make people nervous. ”
Rob Stutzman is a Republican strategist who believes that certain House of Representatives seats in swing districts could be vulnerable. He cited the Senate race between Schiff (the incumbent) and Steve Garvey, the Republican challenger. According to him, some Democratic state legislators pushing against crime demonstrated that the issue had “clearly become vulnerable” before the election.
Stutzman warns: “The pendulum is swinging, and they are being dragged along with it.”
Some Democrats and Republicans are proposing bipartisan legislation to curb small thefts. Smart Solutions is a set of alternative measures that progressive lawmakers have proposed to provide additional services for offenders.
Steve Cooley is a former district prosecutor in Los Angeles. He pointed out this week that politicians like Schiff, who had previously implemented a softer-on-crime policy, were now the victims of criminal activity.
Cooley said, “If super majority Democrat legislators want to have a true impact on crime, they should reverse the previous reckless public safety laws which negatively impacted public. I find that it is ironic that Adam Schiff, who publicly supported George Gascon, was the victim of a crime. “
