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Gates runs for California AG

News · Heat 2.8 / 10 · 2 shows · 1h 20m airtime

On October 21, 2026, Huntington Beach city attorney Michael Gates announced a campaign for California attorney general against incumbent Rob Bonta. Gates says he sued the state over AB 1955 a year and a half ago and won, and he claims the federal government and the Central District of California are investigating California election issues. He also says an ad package projected at six to seven million impressions drew 50 million views, that Huntington Beach cut homelessness overnight by 60 percent through enforcement, and that Bonta knew about $425 billion in fraud and abuse over five years and chose not to investigate. All of these claims are his own and remain unverified in the segments.

How 2 podcasts covered it

  1. Ask Dr. Drew, 2026-10-21 (19:21 to 23:56)
    Argues Bonta on crime and AB 1955
    Gates makes his case against Bonta on crime, corruption and constitutional rights, leaning on a 65 percent wrong-direction poll, a Consumer Affairs public-safety ranking and his AB 1955 win. Campaign pitch, not new reporting.
    New angle: Gates says he sued California over AB 1955 a year and a half ago and won.
  2. Ask Dr. Drew, 2026-10-21 (23:56 to 27:25)
    Widens the pitch to registrar investigations
    Gates, in his AG-campaign interview, widens the election-integrity pitch: county voting machines need review but aren't systemic, registrars are the real problem, and he calls Nithya Raman's late Los Angeles County surge past Spencer Pratt statistically impossible. He says the federal government and the Central District of California are investigating.
    New angle: Gates says the federal government and the Central District of California are investigating California election issues.
  3. Ask Dr. Drew, 2026-10-21 (27:41 to 29:39)
    Pitches law and order in Huntington Beach
    Gates makes his law-and-order pitch inside his attorney general campaign: Huntington Beach thrives because it enforces the law, and a Fourth of July uprising in neighboring Newport Beach did not spread to his city. Campaign rhetoric, not a new development.
  4. Ask Dr. Drew, 2026-10-21 (35:19 to 37:30)
    Reads ad impressions as a campaign poll
    Gates, two weeks out, offers his own metric for the race: a social media ad package projected at six to seven million impressions drew 50 million views, which he reads as a poll. Dr. Drew's San Francisco homelessness numbers serve as the lead-in.
    New angle: Gates says an ad package projected at six to seven million impressions drew 50 million views.
  5. Adam Carolla Show, 2026-10-29 (1:35 to 33:34)
    Interviews Gates on his AG campaign pitch
    Long interview with Gates about his attorney general bid: his Huntington Beach record, a claimed 60 percent overnight drop in homelessness, Spanish-language outreach, and pledges to end Bonta's suits over hospital transition surgeries and school sports. Mostly campaign pitch and opinion.
    New angle: Gates says Huntington Beach cut homelessness overnight by 60 percent through enforcement.
  6. Adam Carolla Show, 2026-10-29 (35:22 to 1:11:17)
    Adds Gates claim Bonta covered for fraud
    Long stretch of the Gates interview on California's leadership failures: process people, one-party rule, the LAX people mover, Skid Row. Adds Gates's on-the-record claim that Bonta covered for $425 billion in fraud and abuse rather than investigate it.
    New angle: Gates says Bonta knew about $425 billion in fraud and abuse over five years and chose not to investigate.
Unpacking...