California Democrats convinced voters of this Let them redraw the state’s congressional map So the party will likely have five seats in the US House of Representatives to counter that Republican Party Redistricting in Texas. Tuesday’s primary will be the first indication of whether that will come to fruition.
The state’s unusual primary system, in which the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party, means Democrats have a chance to miss out on a pickup in suburban San Diego, where Republican Rep. Darrell Issa’s district was redrawn to give it a slight Democratic lean.
Issa retired, and Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond stepped in to run. So did a stream of nine Democrats — so many that some feared the Democratic vote would be split among them, leaving Desmond and the only other Republican candidate, Jim O’Neill, as the top vote-getters. Under this scenario, Democrats would be barred from participating in the general elections scheduled for November.
“After millions of dollars and a nationwide effort to redraw these districts in response to the Texas incident, it would be a nightmare to exclude Democrats,” said Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former Obama administration official and one of the Democrats running in the election.
It was California Bright spot For Democrats in A Redistricting war It was started by President Donald Trump to help his party retain control of the House of Representatives. after Texas is redrawing its map To make up to five more seats winnable for the GOP, California voters allowed Democrats to suspend their state’s independent redistricting commission and create a new map in retaliation.
But when Democrats in Virginia tried to replicate that, they did It was banned by their state’s Supreme Court. At the same time, the conservative majority in the US Supreme Court It gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights ActWhich allowed Republicans to eliminate some black-majority congressional districts in the South.
Campa-Najjar, San Diego City Councilwoman Marnie von Wilbert, and investor Brandon Reker, who is financing his campaign, are the most prominent Democrats in the race for the seat vacated by Issa. Many Democrats are optimistic that their voters will rally around one candidate and stage a competitive run against Desmond in the fall.
The 48th District won’t be the only competitive fall race for Democrats.
In the Central Valley, they redrew the seat held by a Republican Rep. David Valadao To make it more democratic. Valadao is A survivor He is among several Democratic campaigns targeted and one of two remaining Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump after the election January 6, 2021 attack In the US Capitol building.
He is expected to make it to the general election, so the primary will determine which Democrat he faces — state Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, a moderate backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or Randy Villegas, a Sequoia College political science professor and school board member who represents the liberal wing of the party.
The divide between the Democratic establishment and the younger, insurgent progressive wing is just as well Distinctive feature In many of this year’s primaries.
In a safe Democratic district in San Francisco, Scott Wiener, a state representative and former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, is likely to run in the November race to replace retiring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The suspense is over whether he will face Saikat Charkrapati, the wealthy former tech entrepreneur who backed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s insurgent primary in 2018, or Supervisor Connie Chan, whom Pelosi endorsed.
And in Sacramento, City Councilwoman May Fang Challenge 81-year-old Rep. Doris MatsuiShe succeeded her late husband after his death in 2005.
Rep. Brad Sherman, whose Southern California district stretches from the San Fernando Valley to Malibu, is being challenged by Democrat Jake Levin, a 42-year-old lawyer who says it’s time to move on from the 15-term congressman.
In a redrawn district stretching from Napa Valley to conservative farming communities in Northern California, Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson, who has served 14 terms, has attracted a younger challenger, former venture capitalist Eric Jones.
California’s congressional primaries will also determine the fate of Republicans targeted in redrawing the Democratic Party.
In Southern California, Republican representatives sit. Ken Calvert and Young Kimhave been pulled into the same conservative district and are fighting over their pro-Trump credentials.
And in the suburbs of Sacramento, Rep. Kevin Kellywho left the Republican Party to become an independent and a critic of partisan gerrymandering, hopes to remain in one of two Democratic-leaning districts as his district’s more conservative voters have dispersed.
Meanwhile, in the San Francisco suburbs, six Democrats and two Republicans are vying for the seat previously held by Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned and ended his bid for governor. Amidst allegations of sexual harassment. The top two vote-getters qualify for the November ballot to fill the seat starting in 2027, while a special election will be held on June 18 for the remainder of Swalwell’s current term.