Dean E. McHenry

The Pattern of California Politics

to migrate decade by decade in a never ending stream. With the rise in population and industrial productivity, California has become a state to be reckoned with in national affairs. It now looks as if California may displace Pennsylvania in 1950 as the second largest state in population; it has long been second in area. From now on California will loom large in national political matters; its electoral vote will be cultivated assiduously by presidential candidates; its wishes will be increasingly respected in Congress. This rising importance justifies a closer look at California from the political point of view. What makes California tick, politically speaking? A casual visitor might detect no great difference from his own state. There is the usual two party alignment found throughout most of the country. The greatest contending forces in pressure politics are classifiable under headings of agriculture, business, and labor.