A recent poll by the University of California Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) has shown that Republican James Bradley, an outsider to the political world, is almost tied with Democrat State Sen. Kevin de Leon in the race for the U.S. Senate in California in the 2018 midterm election.
Compared to two years ago, more Americans today may believe that electing a political outsider to a public office is not a bad idea. The job approval rating for President Donald Trump, who had never been part of any political establishment before he was elected, recently hit 51 percent, according to the Rasmussen poll.
While the incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) has the lead in the Berkeley IGS poll, Bradley and de Leon are racing for the 2nd spot in the November runoff.
The poll surprised many people, because Bradley, a Republican candidate who hadn’t been heard of by most Californians in the most liberal state in the country, was just one point behind de Leon, who is the State Senate president pro tem.
“My most important qualification is simply this: I have never been a professional politician,” said Bradley.
Bradley believes that his strength comes from his experience with delivering real services or real products to people, while a politician like Feinstein “has lost touch with the real people of California and very seldom takes time to even meet with one.”
So who is James Bradley?
In a phone interview with The Epoch Times, Bradley said he is currently CFO of a private healthcare organization addressing the opioid crisis in America. He said he has a strong background and experience in business within the healthcare industry and has held positions at the executive level for over 30 years.
Bradley strongly believes his career and experience from private business would make him capable of bringing the necessary changes to the government in a way similar to what’s done by Trump, who was also once an outsider to the political world.
Bradley said: “What inspired me to run was President Trump. He inspired me to move from being an independent to become a Republican. The state of California is becoming more socialist. Donald Trump, being a businessman very similar to me, steps up to the call of the country to save our country.”
For Bradley, the call is to save his state.
Trump’s success so far seems to have motivated more political rookies to enter the heated public world, and most of these newcomers have one thing in common: frustration with public policies and government operations.
Bradley said: “I see my country struggling with seemingly intractable problems, and I see the same old crew of people who have never been anything other than career politicians offering up the same old ideas that haven’t worked for a generation or more. I hear the same sound bites going back and forth, back and forth to no real purpose. I see a political stage full of people striking poses for their base of voters, but not trying to find new solutions or even daring to think new ideas.”
Bradley has done extensive studies about the issues and challenges facing California and the United States. On his campaign Facebook page, he provided a long list of items he wants to lead efforts to make changes.
Once elected, his top three priorities will be to help end the sanctuary state policies in California by repealing Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), to repeal the gas tax in California, and to investigate corruption in the current California administration.
While being a strong supporter of repealing SB 54 and speaking to several city council meetings vowing to opt out of SB 54, Bradley also intends to create solutions for illegal immigrants without criminal records to become citizens. Once elected, he wants to work with the federal government to open a time window, such as six months, for illegal immigrants to register to become taxpayers, and later to have a path to become U.S. citizens.
To protect Americans from losing jobs, Bradley vowed to stop the Chinese regime’s “weapons of job destruction,” which include illegal export subsidies, currency manipulation, intellectual property theft, rampant use of sweatshops, and the existence of pollution havens, and so on.
Bradley strongly supports Trump’s efforts to protect American corporations from China’s “forced technology transfer” so that American companies can be treated fairly and remain competitive on a level playing field.
Last year, California State Sen. Joel Anderson (R) initiated a resolution, SJR-10, to urge the Chinese regime to stop persecuting the Falun Gong spiritual discipline. The Chinese regime imprisons practitioners of Falun Gong for their faith. Researchers have reported that the practitioners are then held captive as a living organ bank and killed on demand when someone needs an organ transplant.
The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco reportedly sent letters to members of the California legislature asking them not to support the resolution. The State Senate, under the leadership of de Leon, shelved the resolution.
When asked whether he would have acted differently from de Leon, Bradley answered without hesitation: “These [forced organ harvesting crimes] are barbaric acts and must be discussed and brought to the attention of the public further. These acts are heinous crimes against humanity and cannot be ignored. I firmly believe that we should take an assertive stance in support of SJR-10.”
Bradley, 60, is a Laguna Niguel resident and a third-generation military veteran in his family.
“Protecting America from enemies … is part of my genetic makeup passed down from grandfather to me,” he said.
Bradley’s grandfather was a World War I veteran, and his father served in World War II.
“I am running for the U.S. Senate in California to help restore California and America to their rightful places as the pre-eminent state in the world’s best country,” Bradley said.
