Perry Meade is in the race

And shit is getting extraordinarily weird in the CA-40 battle to take on Young Kim.

Tommy Hearns at the end of his 1985 fight against Marvin Hagler.

In case you missed this, Perry Meade has officially announced himself as a candidate for the CA-40 Democratic primary. The ultimate goal, obviously, is to emerge, take on Republican Young Kim in next year’s general, then join Congress, where he can make meh money to spend his time appearing in 60-second MSNBC hits while avoiding Marjorie Taylor Greene at the company picnic and asking every wealthy person within his stratosphere to fund his next campaign so that he can continue appearing in 60-second MSNBC hits while avoiding Marjorie Taylor Greene at the company picnic and asking every wealthy person within his stratosphere to fund his next campaign.

Glorious, this shit ain’t.

Meade, who is but a babe of 26 but apparently raised $250,000 very quickly, has a pretty clear and—based upon the rise of New York’s Zohran Mamdani—reasonable pitch: I’m the new kid on the block. The OGs have caused all sorts of problems. I have fresh ideas, funky solutions, outside-the-box philosophies and an understanding of social media. Check me out, bros …

He dropped this ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF ad earlier in the week …

And I honestly planned this entire post to be a breakdown of Meade’s rollout, and why dropping an f-bomb in the very first ad was a potentially misguided, pseudo-edgy “Yo, I’m dope” attempt to woo area voters—who tend to lean older and a bit stilted.

But then, well … craziness happened.

On Monday night, the Aliso Niguel Democratic Club hosted four candidates to speak at the group’s monthly general meeting. There was Meade, making his debut on the public stage. There was former Chino Valley school board member and attorney Christina Gagnier. There was nonprofit leader Nina Linh. And there was Esther Kim Varet, the art dealer and (via this site, at least) presumptive frontrunner.

And although I was unable to show, I spoke with myriad attendees—all of whom I trust, all of whom arrived without a preferred candidate, all of whom desperately want Young Kim out, all of whom agreed to speak with me anonymously.

The general take:

• Gagnier isn’t ready for this. She’s fine. Solid. You can do worse. But, according to people in the room, she failed to make eye contact with the crowd while speaking. She gazed over the heads of attendees. And she struggles to offer a compelling reason why people should vote for her. Which has been a problem throughout her run.

• Linh has no shot. It’s not happening. She read from prepared notes and lacks the mojo or finances to make this work. Non-factor.

• Meade was probably the best of the bunch. This was a first-impression showing, and he did well by addressing the myriad projects and movements he’s been involved in through the years. He’s worked on a ton of campaigns and initiatives, which is gravy. His weaknesses—he’s 26, has never really had a job and lives at home with his parents—are major, major, major, major, major, major, major, major problems he’ll need to address. And if I’m Young Kim, the compare-and-contrast makes my mouth water. “You’re gonna elect a kid who lives with Mommy and Daddy? And has never had a job? To Congress? Seriously?” I’m not saying I agree with the argument—but it’s a Nolan Ryan fastball Meade will need to squarely hit.

• Kim Varet … hmm. So, if you read this site you know I recently met with Esther for coffee, and genuinely enjoyed her company. She’s a good hang and she has a lot of cash. She’s a viable candidate who may well win this thing. But her Instagram feed (which she personally handles) gives me agita, because it’s weirdly tone deaf and lacking in political self-awareness and neither funny nor sharp nor strategic. Example, if you’re running for Congress, you can’t post a photo of yourself in this sweatshirt. You just can’t …

And, since we’re on the topic, (for a candidate trying to not come off as elitist) this shit sends the absolute wrong message …

At the Aliso Niguel Democratic meeting, Kim Varet (again, according to the multiple people I spoke with) bombed in a dispiritingly awful way. In no particular order, she referred to herself as an “Apex predator,” turned irrationally defensive when someone questioned why—as a longtime Los Angeles native—she was running in a district where she only recently moved¹, tried to explain that as “an art historian,” she understands the history of Orange County and bragged about the millionaires giving her dough. One person (who I know very well—and trust) called the performance “manic.” Another said she displayed “a serious lack of self awareness.”

And what most worries me is that, after I asked Esther via text to assess her night, she told me she “nailed it.” When I informed her there were some who thought she sucked, she couldn’t believe it. Was genuinely shocked and dismissed the criticisms …

In a way, Kim Varet’s showing reminds me of the supremely confident boxer who enters the ring convinced the fight 100-percent belongs to him. He can see no possible defeat. He feels untouchable. He can’t imagine someone betting against him. It’s the art of delusional inevitability.

This was Tommy Hearns fighting against Marvin Hagler for the undisputed middleweight championship in 1985. In my all-time favorite boxing match, Hearns was the Vegas choice. He punched the hardest. He looked the strongest. He had everything going for him, and the fight of the decade would clearly go his way. There was no other outcome to even consider. It was all Tommy Hearns.

Then he got cocky.

Ignored his handlers.

Insisted he knew what he was doing.

And he got his ass kicked so badly …

… he didn’t know he got his ass kicked so badly.

1. Whether she likes it or not, this is an entirely reasonable question.