Resistance will continue, says California AG
LGBTQ rights and other progressive values are firmly on the agenda with the election of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who was appointed last year after his predecessor, Xavier Becerra, was selected to serve as the Biden administration's secretary of health and human services.

Bonta, 50, is the first Filipino to hold the office in any state, and on election day last week, he beat his Republican opponent Nathan Hochman with 57% of the vote.

Hochman's platform relied on voters' fears of rising crime and their frustrations with the homeless. He was surpassed in funding by only one other GOP candidate in the state.

With Donald Trump hinting at plans to run for president in 2024, Bonta's role as attorney general for what some call "the Resistance State" is especially relevant.

"What is next for our nation remains unknown," Bonta said on election day in a prepared statement, "but what is known is that no matter what happens in Washington, DC, no matter what radical Republicans try to throw our way in state houses, your attorney general will go to court, sue, and fight back."

Black, Gay bishop elected, "traditionalists" flee
With the election of its second openly Gay bishop, who is also its first openly Gay Black bishop, the United Methodist Church (UMC) has again signaled a shift toward more progressive, pro-LGBTQ ideals, and sent a clear message to members of the leadership who disagree to find another denomination.

Conservative faith leaders like Rev. Jay Therrell, who is helping churches leave the UMC, described the development as a breach of the church's usual reputation for being both mainstream and theologically diverse.

"It demonstrates that the 'big tent' has collapsed," Therrell said. "For years, bishops have told traditionalists that there is room for everyone in the United Methodist Church. Not one single traditionalist bishop was elected. Moreover, we now have the most progressive or liberal council of bishops in the history of Methodism, period."

Meanwhile, supporters of the development have said the election only strengthens the church's titular unity.

"It is a big-tent church," repeated Jan Lawrence, executive director of the Reconciling Ministries Network. "One of the concerns that some folks expressed is that we don't have leadership in the church that reflects the diversity of the church. So this episcopal election doesn't fix that, but it's a step in the right direction."

Lawrence was referring, in part, to the fact that the UMC has also elected its first Native American and Filipino American bishops.