Category: News

Pundit to candidate? Political junkies may recognize Lanhee Chen from his frequent appearances on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Now Chen, 42, a Mountain View resident who worked in the George W. Bush White House, is strongly considering a run for California state controller. The incumbent, Democrat Controller Betty Yee, will be termed out. Board of Equalization member and former San Francisco supervisor Malia Cohen has already announced she will seek the office.

Longtime Republican policy advisor and Hoover Institution fellow Lanhee Chen said that he is seriously considering a run for the State Controller Office next year. In an interview with Politico, Chen noted that it would be an uphill climb for any Republican to be elected as Controller, the Chief Financial Officer of the state, as no Republican has held the office since 1975 when Houston Flournoy was Controller.

‘Rising star‘ Lanhee Chen eyeing Controller? High profile political commentator and policy analyst Lanhee Chen, 42, a star at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, tells POLITICO he is “seriously considering” throwing his hat into the 2022 race for California State Controller. With Democratic Controller Betty Yee termed out, the open seat has already drawn a host of Democratic interest — but Chen’s move could signal the formal start of a political career that has the potential to become one of the most consequential in the CAGOP.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is in trouble, and he knows it. The deadline to submit signatures on petitions for his recall is Wednesday and its proponents are poised to put his fate on the ballot later this year. Newsom’s current political challenges appear to stem from his uneven handling of the state’s response to COVID-19 and the extended closure of California’s schools. All of this was punctuated by his attendance at a lobbyist-hosted dinner at the French Laundry restaurant last year in violation of his own public health orders.