Barabak: His nickname was 'Satan.' His political influence was immense
Clint Reilly shaped California Democrats for decades yet earned the nickname 'Satan' from those who knew his ruthless style best.
Clint Reilly didn’t just run campaigns. He installed mayors, senators, and governors, then taught the next wave of consultants how to win dirty in California politics.
His clients formed a Democratic who’s who: names that defined the state for a generation. Yet the man who engineered their victories carried the nickname “Satan” among insiders who feared his tactics as much as they copied them.
That contradiction sat at the heart of Reilly’s immense influence. A political consultant who treated elections like warfare, he trained generations to view voters as targets and opponents as enemies to be destroyed. The results spoke louder than any moral complaint: Reilly’s methods delivered power.
Buried in the lore is how completely he remade the profession. Consultants who learned at his side went on to dominate California races long after he stepped back, spreading a hard-edged style that turned campaigns into multimillion-dollar operations fueled by data, attack ads, and unrelenting discipline.
His death closes a chapter on the modern era of Golden State politics, when backroom operators like Reilly held more sway than most elected officials. The machine he built still runs, even if the public never knew the mechanic’s name.
What lingers is the gap between the polished candidates he presented to voters and the cutthroat reality of how they got there. California’s Democratic dominance wasn’t accidental; it was engineered by men willing to be called Satan if it meant winning.
Original reporting: LA Times.
Original reporting: LA Times, California.
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