Cara Brown McCormick
Cara McCormick is a political strategist and principal at Smart Campaigns, where she advises political, nonprofit, and corporate clients on research, communications, and campaign strategy. Cara has worked on major statewide and national races for more than a decade and led Maine’s successful effort to adopt ranked choice voting, the first statewide use of the system in the country. Cara's work focuses on practical election reforms that strengthen voter choice and improve representation.
Articles by Cara
This California Disposable Vape Ban Could Devastate The Legal Cannabis Industry Even Further
Good intentions often make for compelling policy. But in practice, consequences rarely fall in line as neatly as the ideas that inspired them....
12 Jan, 2026
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6 min read
NEW POLL: California Governor’s Race Sees “None of the Above” Beat the Entire Democratic Field
A new statewide poll conducted by the Independent Voter Project finds California’s independent voters overwhelmingly support the state’s nonpartisan primary system and express broad dissatisfaction with the direction of state politics....
12 Jan, 2026
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4 min read
California is Using Virtual Reality on People in Prison, and It's Working
In California, the birthplace of much of the world’s technology innovation, virtual reality is being used in an unexpected setting: inside prisons....
12 Jan, 2026
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2 min read
Why Did Walz Drop Out? Daycare Fraud & Chaos in Minnesota
Wondering how a major political figure walks away from power, and what that says about the system behind the scenes? This episode unpacks Tim Walz’s decision to step aside in Minnesota and how allegations around daycare funding brought to light by YouTuber Nick Shirley have cracked open a wide-open governor’s race....
08 Jan, 2026
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1 min read
California Prison Health Care Is Still Failing: Audit Exposes Dangerous Conditions Despite Billions in Funding
Job vacancies in prison and state hospital health care have grown even as California has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to fill medical and mental health positions, according to a new state audit....
08 Jan, 2026
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5 min read
Josh Hoover’s Test as a Moderate Republican: Can He Win Independent Voters Again?
The American River connects the cities of Folsom, Rancho Cordova, and Citrus Heights, forming the core of California’s 7th Assembly District, which also includes the unincorporated communities of McClellan Park, North Highlands, Foothill Farms, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Gold River, Rosemont, Mather, and most of Carmichael. The district lies entirely within Sacramento County....
06 Jan, 2026
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9 min read
With Tim Walz Out, Is Minnesota Ripe for The Next Jesse Ventura?
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat and Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election that Donald J. Trump ultimately won, announced January 5 that he will not seek a third term in 2026.
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05 Jan, 2026
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2 min read
How Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50 is Reshaping California - For Better or For Worse
Prop 50 is redrawing California’s political battlefield, sparking new fears of gerrymandering, backroom mapmaking, and voters losing their voice....
19 Dec, 2025
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1 min read
Trump Signs Order to Reclassify Cannabis to Schedule III
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that his administration will officially move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, a decision that marks the most significant change to U.S. drug policy since the early 1970s....
18 Dec, 2025
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2 min read