Technically speaking, Tuesday's primary election will give a boost to the race for California's Senate seat. slow person dianne feinstein The general election is coming up in November, and we are entering the final round.
As a matter of fact, the race is almost over.
The former Republican baseball star has little reason to think so. steve garvey It could pose a serious challenge to Democratic lawmakers. Adam B. Schiff In this once-in-a-generation race. As of Feb. 14, Mr. Garvey had raised just $2.1 million to Mr. Schiff's $31.4 million, making it the first Republican to win California since Arnold Schwarzenegger was re-elected in 2006. He did not win the overall election. Since then, the percentage of registered Republicans has declined, and Democrats now outnumber Republican voters. 2 to 1.
But while the next phase of the Senate race is shaping up to be a bit of a snoozer; california house race Ready to provide lots of excitement. The Golden State is home to some of the most competitive House races in the country, with Republicans holding a slim three-seat majority. California will play an unusually large role. In determining control of Congress. In the coming months, political attention and money will be focused on House races in the Orange County, Central Valley and Palm Springs areas. Fasten your seat belt.
I'm Laurel Rosenhall, Sacramento bureau chief for The Times. We bring you highlights from a big week in California politics.
Proposition 1 teeters on the brink.
governor gavin Newsom's Top priority This week's voting results are shaping up to be truly painful.
Proposal 1, a A statewide bond measure to build new mental health facilities. What Newsom has argued is needed to get the sickest people off the streets remains too close to call. As of Thursday morning, it had support from just 50.3% of the votes counted.
The proposal received unusual bipartisan support. Congress puts it on the ballot During September. But this approach faces opposition from the left and right among voters, with liberals arguing it could infringe on civil liberties and conservatives opposing it. ing. Cost of borrowing $6.4 billion.
There's also the Newsom factor. The governor campaigned for Proposition 1 as follows. Approval rating at the end of last year was the lowest ever. Prop. 1 was key to his plan to address homelessness, and he made himself a key figure in promoting it to voters.
Newsom is a politician who is not used to losing. Since his days on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, he has never lost a job and has risen to the state's highest office. (He withdrew from the 2010 gubernatorial race against Jerry Brown, choosing instead the less competitive race for lieutenant governor.) He supported statewide ballot measures on gun control and marijuana legalization, and he They overwhelmingly agreed. He easily thwarted a recall attempt in 2021.
If Prop. 1 fails, it would not only be a stunning rebuke to Newsom as he sunsets as governor, but it would also weaken his ability to measurably improve the condition of California's streets. This is a difficult legacy to grapple with if you have the potential to hold a high-level position in the future.
LA's hottest races
Two embattled incumbents in Los Angeles lived to fight another day.
City council member kevin de leon And distance. Atty. george Gascon They placed first in each race and advanced to the November runoff.Mr. de Leon appears likely to run against a Democrat. miguel santiago Gascón is likely to compete in LA's 14th Congressional District race. Nathan Hockman Participated in a competition for top prosecutor in Los Angeles County.
Both incumbents have sparked outrage during their terms and face serious challenges to re-election.
Kevin de Leon was “written off as political carrion almost 18 months ago. During a secretly recorded conversation His bigoted, conspiracy-theorizing rants by him and three other big-wigs in LA politics have been made public. ” Times columnist Gustavo Arellano writes:.
However, Kevin de Leon is a fighter who has overcome many obstacles in life and politics. He has survived recall attempts, calls for his resignation and failed bids for the Senate and mayor. Early in his career, when he was a Sacramento lawmaker, Mr. de Leon won the trust of his Senate colleagues and bounced back from his failure to win the House speaker's seat to become state Senate majority leader. I look forward to seeing how he fares in his campaign against Santiago and the next phase of his political career.
Gascón took office four years ago touting a progressive criminal justice reform platform that gained popularity in the wake of high-profile cases. george floydmurder cases in 2020, Writing Times reporters James Querrey and Sonya Sharp. However, this election found itself facing a different political climate, with many voters concerned about crime. According to multiple opinion polls, his disapproval rating exceeds 50%, and 11 candidates ran against him due to dissatisfaction with his policies and perceived weaknesses.
Hochman, who rose to the top, is a former federal prosecutor. Run for attorney general as a Republican in 2022. He is currently running as an independent candidate, rejecting any notion of partisanship in the Democratic Party's campaign.
We hope that this contest will continue to be a lively contest.
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Keep up with California politics
News analysis: How Trump propelled Schiff into the general election and maybe a Senate seat
Despite California's many ills and challenges, nothing will energize the state's left-wing voters in this year's Senate race more than the fear that former President Trump will return to the White House. The ubiquity of Trump's legal woes and his dominance in the Republican presidential primary ensure that his shadow over the 2024 election will linger into November. Increase Rep. Adam B. Schiff only There's already a good chance he'll become California's newest U.S. senator.
Schiff made himself easy in a cynical effort to help Garvey in the Senate primary.
Congressman Adam B. Schiff's clever and cynical ploy california senate primary This allowed them to avoid the risk of a run-off election in November. But he was exposed to other risks, writes columnist George Skelton.Burbank Democrats might. He dug some holes on the main road he usually takes.
A country of fiery liberalism?Senate results defy California stereotypes
of Voters spoke Tuesday. What they said in the state's top races was, “We're going to stick with what we know,” writes columnist Mark Z. Balabak. By choosing Burbank Rep. Schiff, who is the most moderate of the major Democratic candidates and thus closest to Feinstein, they also have two more liberal alternatives, Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine and He rejected a shift to the left promised by Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland.
Here are the results of the major California house races so far
Republican Party Extremely slim 3-seat majority California has several floating seats, so control of the 2025 Legislature will very likely be determined by voters in the Golden State's suburbs. Here's how some major swing seats have been formed so far.
Laura Friedman takes an early lead in race for Schiff's former House seat
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) maintains a decisive lead. Names included in race to replace retiring Congressman Adam B. Schiff In a coveted Los Angeles-area House seat. Republican intensive care physician Alex Balekian came in second, and given the district's Democratic leanings, Friedman is likely to win Congress.
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