Noem Out And Mullin In at DHS, Iran War Timeline Shift, CA Gov Primary Has GOP on Top： AM Update 3⧸6
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Summary
Trump taps Sen. Mark Wayne Mullen as Homeland Security Secretary, reassigning Kristi Noem amid a series of controversies. Virginia Democrats move to limit cooperation with ICE as critics warn the state may be crossing a legal line. And in California, a potential political backfire as party leaders urge struggling Democrats to drop out of the governor s race. All that and more coming up in a moment on today s AM Update.
Transcript
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It's Friday, March 6th, 2026, and this is your AM Update.
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Pretty humbling when you start thinking about it.
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There's a little kid from Westville, Oklahoma, gets to serve in the President's Cabinet.
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President Trump taps Senator Mark Wayne Mullen as Homeland Security Secretary,
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reassigning Kristi Noem amid a series of controversies.
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Our timeline is ours and ours alone to control.
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The Trump administration suggesting Operation Epic Fury in Iran is not ending anytime soon.
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Virginia Democrats moving to limit cooperation with ICE as critics warn the state may be crossing
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And in California, a potential political backfire as party leaders urge struggling Democrats
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All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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President Trump announcing the first cabinet shakeup of his second term yesterday, removing Homeland
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Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid mounting controversy and nominating Senator Mark Wayne
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Rumors swirling about Noem's imminent dismissal yesterday morning after reports surfaced the president
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was unhappy with statements she made during a Tuesday Senate hearing, or at least that was the
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last straw. Ms. Noem coming under fire for a glitzy multi-million dollar DHS ad campaign,
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If you're an illegal alien, this runway is your future, because you're headed home.
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I'm Kristi Noem, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security.
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Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, pressing Noem about the ads during Tuesday's hearing.
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No ma'am, I'm asking you, sorry to interrupt, but the president approved ahead of time you spending
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$220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently.
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Yes sir, we went through the legal processes, did it correct?
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Did the president know you were going to do this?
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President Trump himself pushing back on that claim yesterday morning, telling Reuters,
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Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Trump making the call, posting to Truth Social, quote,
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Secretary Kristi Noem, who has served us well and has had numerous and spectacular results,
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especially on the border, will be moving to be special envoy for the Shield of the Americas,
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our new security initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral,
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Noem issuing a statement on social media, quote,
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Thank you, President Trump, for appointing me as the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas.
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Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth are incredible leaders, and I look forward to
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working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed
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The newly announced Shield of the Americas, described by the White House as a regional coalition
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of Latin American countries aimed at strengthening security across the Western Hemisphere.
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Underneath the public-facing niceties, a source inside the administration telling Fox News,
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Replacing Kristi was based on the culmination of her many unfortunate leadership mishaps,
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including the fallout in Minnesota, the $200 million ad campaign, the allegations of infidelity,
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the mismanagement of her staff, and her constant feuding with the heads of other agencies.
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Noem also facing questions about her alleged affair with special government employee and former
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Trump advisor, Corey Lewandowski, whom she reportedly also tried to make her chief of staff an appointment
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She was asked multiple times about it on Wednesday in a House hearing without directly denying the
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Lewandowski had been serving as one of Noem's top advisors at DHS.
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While some reports indicate he intends to leave his post on March 31st along with the secretary,
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Lewandowski telling NewsNation, quote, no decisions have been made.
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Senator Mullen speaking to reporters on the Hill after his nomination.
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What was your first reaction to just the news that you were nominated for this position just
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Humbling because I had to call my dad and I mean, because it happened quick, right?
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And it's just, you know, pretty humbling when you start thinking about it.
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A little kid from Westville, Oklahoma gets to serve in the president's cabinet.
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The position requires Senate confirmation and even Democrats saying they expect him to receive
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the required 50 votes, with Vice President J.D. Vance available to cast the deciding vote
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At least one Democrat already signaling support, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman posting
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A hearing date for Mullen has not yet been set in the Senate.
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth yesterday providing an update on the ongoing operations in Iran.
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Earlier in the day, political reporting U.S. Central Command, which is overseeing the operation,
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requesting additional intel officers to support the op, quote, for at least 100 days, but likely
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That is well beyond President Trump's initial projection that Operation Epic Fury would last
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Secretary Hegseth telling reporters on Wednesday it could take up to eight weeks, then later
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Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation for the
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You see, there's no shortage of American will here.
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Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as
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The dumb, politically correct wars of the past were the opposite of what we're doing here.
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They had vague objectives with restrictive, minimalist rules of engagement.
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Our authorities, his authorities, CENTCOM's authorities through the President and myself are maxed out.
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Our timeline is ours and ours alone to control, as long as it takes to ensure the United States
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Meanwhile, President Trump's speaking to Reuters yesterday about who will replace the now-deceased
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The President adding that he thinks the next leader is not likely to be the late Ayatollah's
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Secretary Hegseth yesterday asked if these comments represent an expansion of the mission
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Ultimately, I think the President's having a heck of a say.
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And who runs Iran, given the ongoing operation we have.
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Since the beginning of the operation, Iran conducting retaliatory strikes against 12 countries.
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Mr. Hegseth addressing questions about concerns over a widening Middle East conflict.
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This idea that the war might be expanding or there's chaos and nothing could be further
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If anything, what Iran is doing by targeting allied countries that would otherwise want
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to stay out of this, they've actually pulled them into the American orbit.
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So now you've got UAE and Qatar and Bahrain and Saudi and Kuwait and others saying, hey,
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We'll allow you more basing and other opportunities, a lot of which, you know, we can't talk about
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But it's actually firming up the unity of the resistance in order to focus exactly where
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So this idea that it's expanding or going, no, it's actually, it's actually simplifying
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in a number of ways exactly what we need to achieve and how we'll achieve it.
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Coming up, Virginia Democrats advancing legislation imposing sweeping new limitations on ICE as
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critics warn the Commonwealth may be crossing the line.
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A political misfire in California, Democrat candidates push back after party leadership
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urges those trailing in the polls to drop out of the race.
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The Virginia House passing a series of anti-ICE measures designed to sharply restrict federal
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In a 63-34 party-line vote, Democrats advancing legislation banning state and local law enforcement
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from assisting, cooperating with, or using, quote, any law enforcement resources to facilitate
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any operation to identify arrest or otherwise impose a penalty upon any individual for purposes
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The legislation also barring ICE agents from making arrests at courthouses, schools, and
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The bill does include an exception for immigration officers who obtain a judicial warrant.
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But ICE needs only an administrative warrant issued by DHS to arrest a detainee and to request
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That's because immigration enforcement happens primarily under Article 2 of the Constitution
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The legislation also banning ICE agents from coming within 40 feet of a polling location
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and would criminalize agents wearing face coverings while conducting enforcement operations,
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a restriction almost certain to be ignored by ICE, which has already obtained a legal ruling
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in federal court blocking a similar mask law in California as barred under the Supremacy
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Clause, these being federal officers controlled by federal law.
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The debate comes as DHS reports an 8,000 percent increase in threats against ICE officers and their
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families, along with a 1,300 percent spike in assaults on agents.
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DHS authorizing agents to wear facial coverings in the field in response to those growing threats.
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With the Virginia Senate already passing the bills, the legislation now heads to the desk
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If signed, the measure would mark Governor Spanberger's latest step in strengthening Virginia's
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Shortly after taking office, Governor Spanberger terminating a cooperation agreement with ICE
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that had allowed Virginia State Police and Department of Corrections officers to assist federal
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The push to pass this newest slate of bills coming just days after the killing of 41-year-old
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Police arresting Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from West Africa's Sierra Leone,
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who investigators say had been arrested more than 30 times since entering the U.S. in 2012.
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Republican Delegate Dolores Riley Oates directly connecting the state's policies to the killing
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Just weeks after Governor Spanberger chose to end the Commonwealth's cooperation with federal
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immigration authorities, a woman is dead, killed by someone who should never have been
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Governor Spanberger now has until April 13th to sign, amend or veto the legislation.
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We spoke to attorney and founder of the Article 3 project, Mike Davis, who says these bills,
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if signed into law, go far beyond simply declining to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
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These states are not required to cooperate with federal law enforcement, but these states certainly
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And when you have these Virginia Democrats in the House and the Senate conspiring with the new
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Virginia governor, Abigail Spanberger, and her administration to obstruct federal immigration
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You have the issue of obstruction of law enforcement, conspiracy, harboring illegal aliens, assaults.
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If they touch federal law enforcement in the line of duty, even kidnapping, if they follow through
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Governor Spanberger and these Democrats, they are engaging in a seditious conspiracy.
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Davis warning, if state and local officials attempt to interfere with federal immigration authorities,
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This is a very dangerous path that Governor Abigail Spanberger is going down.
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It's like these Democrats in the South are returning to their Confederates' roots.
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And if anyone gets killed during this Confederate standoff by these Virginia Democrats against
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federal immigration enforcements, if anyone gets killed, those Democrat officials in Virginia could
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They are on a very, very dangerous path with what they're doing by creating this illegal,
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unconstitutional, very dangerous criminal conflict between the state of Virginia and the federal
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We asked Davis about the so-called exception in these bills, allowing cooperation with ICE,
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but only when federal agents obtain a judicial warrant from an Article III court.
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He tells us that flies in the face of the Constitution.
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Federal immigration law is written by Congress.
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There is not any requirements for an Article III court judicial warrant to enforce our federal immigration
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Our immigration laws are set up where we have federal immigration officials who go to U.S.
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Immigration enforcement is civil, not criminal.
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And so there is no need to get a judicial warrant to enforce our federal immigration laws.
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Any states that tries to impose these burdens on the federal government are violating federal law.
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It is a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution, which makes clear that Congress writes our
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immigration laws and those immigration laws are the supreme law of the land.
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If this legislation were to become law, Davis tells us the Trump administration has legal options.
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The Trump administration can and should bring a civil action against Virginia if Virginia tries to disrupt,
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obstruct federal law enforcement executing federal law.
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These courts are going to strike this down immediately.
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Secondly, the Justice Department should explore bringing criminal charges against these Democrats, including Governor
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Spanberger, who are engaged in a seditious conspiracy right now by plotting to use force and arrest to stop,
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to obstruct federal agents carrying out federal law.
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That is textbook seditious conspiracy, and they could be charged right now for that.
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If they actually are dumb enough to try to move forward with these arrests of federal agents doing their jobs,
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then the Justice Department can and should bring charges against all the Virginia Democrats involved,
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In California, a push by Democratic Party leadership to thin the crowded field in the race for governor
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State Democrat Party chair Rusty Hicks earlier this week urging candidates who, quote,
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do not have a viable path to drop out of the race by April 15th,
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warning a fractured Democratic field could allow two Republicans to advance to the general election,
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California operates under a top-two primary system,
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with candidates from all parties appearing on the same ballot,
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and the two highest vote-getters move on to November regardless of party.
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A new poll from Tulchin Research finding the two candidates leading now are both Republicans,
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Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton,
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Meantime, Democrats' support remains fractured across the crowded field,
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including Congressman Eric Swalwell, who has 14 percent,
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former Congresswoman and angry, angry lady Katie Porter at 13,
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billionaire Tom Steyer at 10, and several others trailing behind.
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But instead of agreeing to thin the field, as requested,
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several Democrats doubling down on their candidacies.
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Among them, former Biden HHS Secretary Javier Becerra,
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Becerra asking at a candidate forum earlier this week,
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Isn't it interesting that the candidates they're asking to get out of the race
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Thurmond echoing that criticism, saying in a statement the party was telling,
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Every candidate of color in the race for governor to drop out.
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Yee, who filed her paperwork on Wednesday telling Politico,
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Voters choose the next governor, not political gatekeepers.
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State Party Chair Hicks pushing back on the criticism,
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My letter is simply calling upon candidates to be thoughtful,
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to be responsible and honest with themselves and with all of us
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in assessing their campaign and their decision to move forward.
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The reality is, is that there has been poll after poll after poll
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And if you're at the bottom of that time and time again,
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my hope is, is that you believe and can showcase a clear path
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Governor Newsom asked on Tuesday by CBS about the crowded field.
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Right now, you have just two Republican candidates
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And as a consequence of that, the more there are
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That said, I'm not putting my thumb on anything at the moment.
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