Dan Walters

California Current Events and Politics Expert, Journalist, Author

Author •
Journalist

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years and has written about California and its politics for a number of publications, including the Sacramento Bee and The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Walters frequently appears on CNN, Fox, and other networks, commenting about political developments in California.

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What Dan Walters's clients say

Here is some of the feedback from audiences and clients who have worked with Dan.

"Dan Walters was in top form when he spoke at our conference recently in Monterey. His was provocative, informative, and knowledgeable about California politics, and his presentation received an "A" from our people. His insight into the future was received well and his personal experiences provided my guests with some of the best political commentary in 30 years. We will certainly consider him again at a future conference/meeting."

Bill Mattos,

President,

California Poultry Federation

"Dan Walters has spoken at many of our conferences, and always does a great job."

Caitlin Cole,

League of California Cities

"Dan was very informative and concise with his messaging. He spoke on exactly the topics we needed him to."

Ferrah McKeown,

Bay Area Mobility Management

"The two associations Dan spoke to were blown away with how knowledgeable he was and how he was able to convey what's going on in Sacramento in easy to understand comments for people who are not immersed in politics every day. "

Tracy Morgan Hollingworth MPA CAE,

Morgan Hollingworth Public Affairs & Association Management

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Dan Walters's 2025 biography

Meet Dan Walters

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. At one point in his career, at age 22, he was the nation’s youngest daily newspaper editor.

He joined The Sacramento Union’s Capitol bureau in 1975, just as Jerry Brown began his governorship, and later became the Union’s Capitol bureau chief. In 1981, Mr. Walters began writing the state’s only daily newspaper column devoted to California political, economic, and social events.

In 1984, he and the column moved to The Sacramento Bee and in 2017, Mr. Walters and his column shifted to CALmatters.org, a non-profit organization devoted to California public policy issues. He has written more than 9,000 articles and his column appears in dozens of California newspapers.

Mr. Walters has written about California and its politics for a number of other publications, including The Wall Street Journal, and in 1986, his book, “The New California: Facing the 21st Century,” was published in its first edition. The book later underwent revisions and became a widely used college textbook about socioeconomic and political trends in the state.

He is also the founding editor of the “California Political Almanac” and the co-author of “The Third House: Lobbyists, Money and Power in Sacramento,” published by the University of California. Mr. Walters frequently appears on CNN, Fox, and other networks, commenting about political developments in California.