Ben Paviour

California Politics Reporter @Sacbee_news. Virginia native. Not to be trusted with fragile objects. Reach out anytime: [email protected].

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

I'm excited to move west to join @sacbee_news as the California Political Power Reporter, covering campaigns, statehouse politics, and policy!

If you're in this world or know people who are, please reach out.

https://t.co/nZePFDLynV

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

Madrid on why Mahan failed to take off in the midst of Trump 2.0: “The way I’d characterize it is, nobody wants to be told the foundation of their house has a crack in it while it’s on fire. Put out the fire first and then we’ll get to what else is wrong.”

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

I talked to @madrid_mike @LorenaSGonzalez and @danschnur about Steyer’s odds of moving forward, why Porter and Mahan’s campaigns stalled, and whether Becerra represents something new for California Dems or the status quo.

https://t.co/X45CstyRWb

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

I talked to @madrid_mike @LorenaSGonzalez and @danschnur about Steyer’s odds of moving forward, why Porter and Mahan’s campaigns stalled, and whether Becerra represents something new for California Dems or the status quo.

https://t.co/X45CstyRWb

[Will Jordan @williamjordann]

Here is a somewhat "wow" number. Riverside County - one of CA's largest - estimates 323,000 votes remain to be counted, presumably on top of the 268,000 counted as of 4am. If that's right, the county is estimating 588,000 votes cast, 41% turnout, vs the 37% the AP is asuming.

[The Sacramento Bee @sacbee_news]

Republican Steve Hilton had 26.9% of the vote, compared to 25.8% for Democrat Xavier Becerra and 19.8% for Democrat Tom Steyer, in the California gubernatorial primary, according to initial results from the Secretary of State’s office as of 10:52 p.m. on June 2, 2026.
✍️ Lia Russell & Ben Paviour
🎥 Ben Paviour
#elections #Californiagovernor #Vote #XavierBecerra,

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

But his plan was bulletproof https://t.co/FiwM9NTVSy

[Jeremy B. White @JeremyBWhite]

👀👀 Barack D. Obama Shaw way behind in first drop. We'll see if he can build on his 790 votes as the night goes on

[Jeremy B. White @JeremyBWhite]

NEW: @XavierBecerra could well be California’s next governor.

So who is he?

The Becerra that emerged from 50 interviews: a career pol who analyzes and analyzes — then sticks to his decision, even if it frustrates. Our story here

https://t.co/iPEJUFsDb1

[Rob Pyers @rpyers]

Xavier Becerra's campaign threatening to sue Tom Steyer if he refuses to take down this ad.

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

“You’d be forgiven for assuming that Tom Lackey — a former CA state trooper, GOP lawmaker and member of the LDS Church — isn’t a fan of scofflaw rapper Afroman…You’d be forgiven, but you’d be wrong.” -@AndrewGraham88

https://t.co/CSl7HIf7Fo

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

An early backer of Obama in the 2008 primary is spending heavily in CA’s lieutenant governor race boosting Michael Tubbs and attacking Fiona Ma. He single-handedly outspent Tubbs’ own campaign 6x in the most recent cycle.

https://t.co/mSu23Q31o8

[Jeremy B. White @JeremyBWhite]

Good @BPaves look at issues with some of @TomSteyer real estate investments

https://t.co/YjE0yskObQ

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

Tom Steyer has taken aim at "corporate landlords" he accuses of profiting from California's housing crisis. But his tax filings show he's an investor in apartment complexes that have hiked fees/rent and faced maintenance issues.

https://t.co/baPN538jJx

[Lia Russell @LiaOffLeash]

The United Farm Workers built its political power around Chavez. Now it faces a reckoning, via @mathewjmiranda

https://t.co/fI49Vtqcgg

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

Unchanged since at least 2009, per Wayback Machine.

[Laura J. Nelson @laura_nelson]

very few websites left that make me feel like I'm time traveling... the California Secretary of State's campaign finance system is one of them

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

Republican Chad Bianco says Trump's endorsement of Steve Hilton is a liability in California, and he'll be the candidate to win over Dems and independents, per @FresnoBee https://t.co/pfcTtCKg3L

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

There's 61 names on the ballot in California's governor's race.

I talked to the ones you haven't seen on the debate stage: LivingForGod AndCountry DeMott, Barack D. Obama Shaw, Thunder Parley, and the Republican who went viral from a cemetery.

https://t.co/V5iCVkYoZ0

[Lia Russell @LiaOffLeash]

LivingForGod to Barack Obama Shaw: Meet the overlooked hopefuls for governor, via @BPaves https://t.co/jVLaXMKKHK

[Nicole Nixon @_Nixo]

Steyer campaign staffer linked to video of rival Katie Porter berating staff: https://t.co/htNMgxiTOp

[Hannah Dreier @hannahdreier]

A story of mine from 2023 has suddenly become a major issue in the California governor's race.

With the final debate tonight, I tried to set the record straight on the frontrunner's role in the migrant child labor crisis—and whether he "lost" 85,000 kids. https://t.co/1NfvtJVjOq

[Ben Paviour @BPaves]

“If it looks like a robot made it… don’t use it,” the memo read. “Keep your bio casual, relatable, and on-theme for the campaign, but do NOT mention Tom Steyer directly —> this helps to avoid the account looking like a bot starting out.”

[Lia Russell @LiaOffLeash]

Scoop: Tom Steyer’s campaign is offering influencers $10 a video to post in support on TikTok/IG/Youtube https://t.co/sU0b76B0Xo

[TMZ @TMZ]

😳 EXCLUSIVE: Spencer Pratt is staying at the Bel Air hotel, not his airstream trailer.

Details: https://t.co/aMYI685oaT