Yue Stella Yu covers politics for CalMatters, with a particular focus on campaigns, elections and voters.
After arriving in California in October 2023, she dove into the state’s once-in-30-years U.S. Senate primary, a fierce contest to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Stella helped write CalMatters’ 2024 March primary Voter Guide, dug deep into Senate candidates’ voting records and policy positions, covered three televised debates and examined their pledges against corporate PAC money. She also reported on issues affecting Latino voters’ turnout across California.
Stella will be a lead reporter covering the November election, including the U.S. Senate race, congressional contests and key statewide issues.
Before joining CalMatters, Stella covered state and local politics in Michigan, Tennessee and Mississippi while dabbing in investigative stories. In 2023, her reporting revealed the highly unregulated housing conditions for Michigan dairy farm workers and the lack of state actions to protect workers. She won first place in investigative reporting in press association contests in Tennessee, Mississippi and Missouri.
She graduated from the University of Missouri with a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in 2017. She is based in Sacramento.
Other languages spoken: Mandarin (fluent) and Korean (conversational)
