Meet Brian Dahle, Candidate For California Governor: Election 2022

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Brian Dahle is from truly rural California: the tiny town of Bieber, with fewer than 300 residents, in the far northern county of Lassen. His family has ranched in the area for generations and he followed them into agriculture, starting his own seed company, which he has continued to operate during his forays into politics.

After a decade in the state Legislature, including a brief stint leading the Assembly Republican Caucus, Dahle is the most prominent GOP challenger to Gov. Gavin Newsom this year, though hardly a household name. Dahle has tried to position himself as the savior who can rescue California from liberal elitism run amok under Newsom, whom he slammed as a “dictator” and a “smooth-talking wine salesman” during his campaign kickoff. Dahle has called for overturning Proposition 47, the voter-approved initiative that reduced penalties for some theft and drug crimes, and for requiring that homeless people get sober before the state will provide them with housing assistance.

An unapologetic conservative, Dahle may appeal to enough Republicans to finish in the top two of the June primary, but he faces an uphill climb to win over the Democratic and independent voters he would need to topple Newsom in November. On key issues — including his support for former President Donald Trump and his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — he is outside the mainstream of the California electorate.

EXPERIENCE

State Legislature: 2012-present

• First elected to the Assembly in 2012, representing a vast swath of Northern California
• Led the Assembly Republican Caucus for about 14 months between 2017 and 2018
• Won a special election to fill a vacant seat in the state Senate in 2019
• Few of his bills ever become law, as is typical for Republicans at the Capitol — so Dahle points to his role negotiating on major legislation led by Democrats, including the 2014 water bond, an extension of a program to develop broadband infrastructure in underserved areas, a measure to end surprise hospital billing and a commitment to more vegetation management in wildfire-prone areas

Lassen County Board of Supervisors: 1996-2012

• Served four terms on the board of supervisors for this rural county of about 30,000 people in far Northern California, best known for a pair of state prisons in Susanville
• Led Rural County Representatives of California and the Western Interstate Region for the National Association of Counties, and served on the board of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy
• Declared that the proudest accomplishment from his tenure is “leaving the county debt-free with its pensions fully funded”

REFERENCES

• GOP legislative colleagues, including Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk of Lancaster, Sen. Pat Bates of Laguna Hills and Assemblymember Frank Bigelow of Madera
• Rep. Jay Obernolte, a Big Bear Lake Republican
• Sheriffs of Lassen, Butte and El Dorado counties

FUN FACT

Dahle proposed to his wife in the middle of a Board of Supervisors meeting in 1998.

Want to know where Dahle stands on some of the biggest questions facing California? Visit CalMatters for more on his views on hot-button issues, fundraising efforts, and online links.

CHECK OUT THE FULL CALMATTERS 2022 VOTER GUIDE HERE.