This Orange County Democrat Just Raised Your Gas Prices

Good morning, Happy Friday, and thanks for opening the latest edition of the OC Conservative Brief!

Today we’re diving into why gas prices may soon be going up thanks to the actions of one Orange County Democrat. We’re also looking at the initial announcements from the Democrats and Republicans on which Orange County seats they plan to target in the 2026 midterms (one seat is notably missing). Plus, Huntington Beach just added a new councilmember to its ranks and you (or your stomach) may know him from Fox News.

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Now let’s dive in…

ET TU, CATHERINE BLAKESPEAR? A bill that would have voided the California Air Resources Board (CARB)’s recent decision mandating a costlier and “greener” fuel blend to meet the state’s strict emissions standards was killed in the Senate this week, thanks to Orange County Democrat state Senator Catherine Blakespear.

Sacramento Republicans have fighting CARB’s latest “hidden gas tax,” which is projected to spike gas by as much as $0.65 cents per gallon. Last month, they tried to force a vote in the Assembly on a bill voiding the new mandate, but Democrats successfully blocked it from going to the floor.

• 👀 A recent poll found that 83% of California voters believe gas prices are too high and 69% believe Democrats in Sacramento have not done enough to lower energy costs, which is why Democrats do not want to have to vote on this.

Enter Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who chairs the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and comes from the climate-obsessed, natural gas-banning, all-electric wing of the party. On Wednesday, her committee took up the GOP-sponsored Senate Bill 2 (SB2), which would have cancelled CARB’s mandate.

SB2 failed to get out of her committee. Three senators - two Republicans and one Democrat - voted for the bill. Only two Democrats voted no, but despite the 3-2 vote, the bill was killed because three Democrats abstained, denying the bill the majority it needed to head to the Senate floor. One of those abstentions (referred to as No Vote Recorded, or NVR), was Sen. Blakespear … who was there.

Blakespear played a cynical game that has become increasingly popular among Sacramento Democrats:

• 😡 ALARMING TREND —> Abstentions are a common occurrence among Sacramento Democrats, who enjoy a super-majority and have room to maneuver with how they vote. Abstaining allows members to avoid taking controversial votes while still killing bills they don’t like in committee.
  

• This tactic came to an explosive head in 2023, when a popular Democrat-backed fentanyl-related bill that had enough co-sponsors to pass on the Senate floor was killed in committee by four left-wing Democrats who, unwilling to go on record, simply abstained.

Sen. Blakespear had her climate cake and ate it too. She avoided taking a tough vote on a gas price-hiking mandate that could be used against her in the 2026 elections, while ensuring a key piece of her cherished climate change agenda remains in place (never mind that the rest of her constituents get screwed).

She still has reason to worry in 2026. Blakespear is up for re-election next year, and her 38th Senate District, which covers southern Orange County and northern San Diego County, is purple. She only won by four points in 2022, 52% - 48% against Republican Matt Gunderson.

Inflation and cost-of-living were part of the reason California voters swung to the right in 2024; if those same issues dominate voters’ minds, Blakespear would have a lot to answer for against a credible and well-funded Republican opponent.

Sure, Blakespear didn’t vote “no,” but her silence might have spoken louder than any vote she could have taken. Willingly allowing gas prices to increase in the name of the radical climate agenda while voters across the spectrum are screaming at you to do something to lower them is duplicitous. Trying to hide from accountability on it is just politically malfeasant.

The Democrats obstinance on energy may be the achilles heel that ultimately brings them down a few pegs. Gas prices are rising, voters are frustrated, and, with a super-majority, they are running out of people to blame. In the meantime, this is how Democrats govern in Sacramento - there is little accountability and they think they can get away with anything.

POUR ONE OUT FOR THE 49TH? The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the GOP arm tasked with winning House races, released its list of 26 Democrat-held seats it plans to target in the 2026 midterms … and unsurprisingly, Orange County will be a major battleground yet again.

Orange County’s two freshman Democrat Congressmen, Reps. Dave Min (CA-47) and Derek Tran (CA-45), will be square in the NRCC’s sights next year, meaning the committee plans to deploy resources to defeat them, and for good reason:

• CA-47: Dave Min kept the 47th District blue by just under three points last year, defeating Republican Scott Baugh 51.4% to 48.6%, or by about 10,000 votes.
  

• CA-45: Derek Tran flipped the 45th District from red to blue in one of the closest races in the country, defeating incumbent Republican Congresswoman Michelle Steel by just 800 votes.

The NRCC’s Democrat counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), doesn’t disagree. Earlier this month, they released their own list of vulnerable “Front Line” Democrat incumbents they’re aiming to protect in 2026, and both Min and Tran are on the list.

• Meanwhile, the Cook Political Report’s initial House 2026 ratings placed Tran’s 45th District as a “Toss Up,” Min’s 47th District as “Leans Dem,” and Republican Rep. Young Kim’s 40th District as “Leans Republican.”

However, one Orange County seat that has been contested by both the NRCC and DCCC in recent cycles is not on either’s 2026 lists. California’s 49th District, which hugs the coast from southern Orange County down to San Diego and is currently held by Democrat Rep. Mike Levin, is neither listed as an NRCC target nor a DCCC defense.

Levin was targeted by the NRCC in both 2024 and 2022. The DCCC named him as a “Front Line” incumbent in both those cycles as well, so this exclusion is notable. On paper, Levin is hardly a Democrat you’d expect to be sitting pretty:

• Under the current district lines, Levin has never cracked 53% of the vote. In fact, from 2022 to 2024, he slid backwards, from 52.6% to 52.2%.
  

• He raised just a little over $5 million in 2024 which, why formidable, isn’t jaw-dropping for an incumbent (Michelle Steel, for example, raised $10 million; Young Kim raised $9 million).

The number that may be giving the NRCC pause is the 49th District’s 2024 presidential election results. Kamala Harris won the district by nearly eight points. In contrast, she only won the 47th District by 4.2% and the 45th by just 1.5%. Taken as a baseline, that Harris win margin is a sizable blue wall for Republicans to overcome next year.

That’s not to say Levin can’t be defeated in 2026 with the right environment and a strong candidate. But as far as the NRCC’s national deployment of limited resources is concerned, there are dozens of other Democrat-held seats - lower-hanging fruit - that are more within grasp than a district that Harris won by eight points. Thirteen Democrat incumbents hold districts that Trump outright won in 2024; others sit in districts Harris only narrowly won, like CA-45 and CA-47.

Yes, but… the NRCC and the DCCC typically release multiple “rounds” of lists as they get deeper into the election cycle and the battlefield becomes clearer, so it’s possible that Levin could be named as a target down the road.

SOME SIZZLE IN HUNTINGTON BEACH Orange County chef, MAHA activist, Food Network celebrity and occasional Fox News guest Andrew Gruel was appointed to the fill the vacant seat on the Huntington Beach city council this week, filling the spot left open by Tony Strickland, who was elected to the state Senate earlier this month.

• Gruel joined Lara Trump on her Fox News weekend show earlier this month to give her a cooking lesson on healthy meals and discuss the MAHA movement.

Gruel, who has over 300,000 followers on X with the handle @ChefGruel, owns the Calico Fish House in Huntington Beach. He also founded the restaurant chain Slapfish - also based in Huntington Beach - in 2012 before selling it in 2022.

While Gruel has long been active in the culinary industry, he rose to popularity among conservatives during the pandemic, when he went viral in December 2020 after posting a video explaining why he was keeping his restaurants open in defiance of Governor Newsom’s orders shutting down outdoor dining:

• “I can go into Walmart — nobody wears a mask at Walmart!” Gruel said in the below video. “I can get a pink cockatoo for my Christmas tree but I can’t go and dine outdoors at a restaurant. I can go to Target, Amazon is making tons of money — all big business is getting rich. OK! Outdoor dining does not lead to (COVID). Therefore, screw that — we’re staying open. Outdoors. It’s that simple. I’m not an a–hole — the governor is!”

We’ll keep an eye on Huntington Beach’s latest city councilmember and (potential?) rising California GOP star!

WAIT, THERE'S MORE...

🐘 A new poll found that 48% of California’s registered voters would “consider” voting for a Republican candidate for governor in 2026, which the pollster called the “biggest window of opportunity in a generation.”

🧑‍🎓 The University of California system announced it will no longer require “diversity statements” for job applicants amid President Trump’s threat to cut federal funding over DEI practices.

🔪 DOGE says it is terminating leases for two Orange County-based offices, a Bureau of Industry and Security office in Irvine and a Food and Drug Administration office in San Clemente, reportedly saving over $1 million in annual leases.

✂️ Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is grappling with the potential for steep budget cuts after officials announced the city is facing a $1 billion deficit.

👮 An Orange County sheriff’s deputy was stabbed this week in San Clemente while on a routine patrol but is expected to make a full recovery.

🤯 A Capistrano Unified School District trustee is in hot water after she dropped the N-word during a school board discussion over James, a book that retells Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective and repeatedly uses the word.

 📰 A Laguna Niguel couple who lived in the U.S. illegally for 35 years despite being ordered by an immigration judge to leave the country in 2000 have made headlines after they were detained by ICE and are now facing deportation back to Columbia.