Name: Michael Gates on Crime, Fraud, and Running for California AG
Uploaded: 2026-05-05T20:17:53.000Z
Duration: 0
Description: California's Attorney General race is four weeks from a primary — and most voters don't know what the office actually does. Tonight, we sit down with Republican...

California's Attorney General race is four weeks from a primary — and most voters don't know what the office actually does. Tonight, we sit down with Republican candidate Michael Gates, the former Huntington Beach City Attorney who spent a decade battling Sacramento in court and is now running to replace Rob Bonta as California's top law enforcement officer.
Gates made his name as an elected city attorney — not appointed, elected — who launched a criminal prosecution program that drove downtown crime down 11.5%, claimed a 60% reduction in homelessness on his watch, and won a $38 million court verdict against the State of California. He then joined the Trump DOJ as Deputy Assistant Attorney General before returning to run statewide.
We ask the questions every frustrated Californian should be asking: What has the AG's office actually been doing on fraud, fentanyl, and government accountability? Where has enforcement been missing? How does a Republican win statewide in California? And what happened at the DOJ?
California Underground airs every Tuesday at 8PM PST on YouTube.