Opinion: How Calif. became a very blue state
By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee
Dan Walters
Demography, it’s been said, is destiny – and the outcome of California’s election this month proves it again.
California’s political evolution over the last four decades, from a mostly red state to a purple state and finally to a very blue state, corresponds to its powerful demographic trends, driven largely by equally powerful economic forces.
During that period – spanning Jerry Brown’s two governorships and four others in between – the state’s economy moved from industrialism to a post-industrial mélange of technology, trade and services.