Democrats have held one-party rule in California for 16 years.
Posted by The Dan Bongino Show, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 3 support5 context
- Said
- 2 times·
- Confidence
- 65%
The Dan Bongino ShowOct 16, 2026
The claim's core, that Democrats have controlled California's governorship, statewide offices and legislature for about 16 years, is supported by several sources, most directly the LA Times opinion piece saying Democrats have held the governor's desk, every other statewide office and both legislative houses for nearly 16 years.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… it yesterday and the day before, and many times I've been, and it's not just Skid Row and the famous places like that, notorious is probably a better word. It's everywhere, and it's in the Bay Area, and it's in Fresno, and it's in Chico. This isn't working. We've had 16 years of one-party rule. Democrats have run everything in California: all the statewide offices, both chambers of the legislature with a two-thirds majority, that they can, means they can do anything they want without any Republican input, every big city, every big county, the state Supreme Court, people forget that, with a six-one Democrat appointed majority. It's total one party rule. …
The Dan Bongino Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. An LA Times opinion piece dated 2026-10-27 states that since 2011 Democrats have held the governor's desk, every other statewide office and both legislative houses for nearly 16 years.[1]
Supports. The Hoover Institution piece dated 2026-10-29 says Democrats control every statewide constitutional office and supermajorities in both legislative chambers.[2]
Supports. The American Prospect (2026-02-09) reports Democrats have controlled roughly three-quarters of legislative seats and won every statewide election since 2010.[3]
Context. Legislative Democratic control predates the 16-year window, with Democrats holding the legislature since 1970 apart from brief interruptions, so the 16-year figure reflects combined governorship and statewide control rather than the legislature alone.[4][5]
Context. The 16-year phrasing originates with Steve Hilton's campaign remarks, which the claimant repeats; those statements are not independent corroboration.[6][7][8]
Sources
8 sources: 7 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1A Republican governor would bring productive tension to ...latimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 2Who Lost California?hoover.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3The Nation’s Most Democratic State Might Elect a Trump-Friendly Governor - The American Prospectprospect.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4California Democrats Belatedly Realize the Consequences ...nationalreview.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 5How Long Have Democrats Controlled California?legalclarity.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 65 takeaways from gubernatorial debate Californians should knowrecordnet.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Steve Hilton explains why he should be California's next governorkcra.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 8Steve Hilton on Trump, affordability, and homelessnesskcrw.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 2 published posts
Checked 2 times
Each check reads the sources again. The newest verdict is the one this page states.
- · latestTrue
- True
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