Push to end bullet train in 2020 could signal GOP strategy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Worried they would lack big-name candidates at the top of the ticket this November, California Republicans turned to a ballot measure that would eliminate a recent gas tax increase in hopes of exciting conservatives and ensuring they show up to support lower-profile legislative and congressional candidates.
A potential similar strategy for 2020 emerged Tuesday, when a conservative radio host who is the public face behind this year’s gas tax initiative announced he will pursue another measure — this one eliminating the state’s beleaguered high-speed rail project.
Though it’s a presidential election year, California is overwhelmingly Democratic and a Republican hasn’t won the state since 2006.
Early phases of construction have begun on the train meant to take passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours. But the $77 billion project championed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and his supporters has seen costs spike and the completion date pushed back.