Bob Filner, a 10-term U.S. congressman whose long political career ended abruptly after he was elected mayor of San Diego and driven from office amid sexual misconduct allegations, has died.

California Republicans have long viewed Kevin Faulconer as someone moderate enough to win back the governor's office in the heavily Democratic state.

State Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks led a group of Democratic officials who described the effort to remove Newsom as a coup and claimed, without evidence, that those involved were far-right extremists. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool, File)LOS ANGELES – California Republicans on Wednesday seized on a bungled Democratic attempt to link the proposed recall of Gov. The criticism came as the Republican Party of Orange County launched a new round of fundraising appeals for the recall, saying Democrats were attempting to enflame political tensions at a time of national strife. “Linking a legal and constitutionally appropriate (California) recall attempt to the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and ongoing coup attempt is worse than a bad PR call. Unlike a coup, typically a violent and illegal attempt to seize power, recall elections are authorized under state law.