How the California Insurance Race Became a Left-Wing Race

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Progressives have spotted an opportunity to capture one of the most powerful regulatory posts in the country from establishment Democrats.

They bring in the senator. Bernie Sanders to help.

“People are tired of the greed of these billionaires, tired of them undermining democracy,” thundered Sanders (I-Vt.) At a rally Saturday in San Francisco, the first of three California stops to drum up support for a billionaires tax and a group of progressive candidates. Among the headliners: Jeanne Kima Democrat and former San Francisco official running for state insurance commissioner.

For progressives, the insurance position represents a chance to transform politics into an influential — if little-known — role in the nation’s most populous state. And it offers an alternative path to power for a wing of the Democratic Party that failed this year in the gubernatorial race after the billionaire. Tom Steyer lost in the primary.

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