Voters in six states'California, Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey and South Dakota'go to the polls to cast ballots in primaries today. For the first time, California voters statewide will use the state's new "top-two" primary system, whereby all candidates from all parties appear together on a single ballot, and the top two vote-getters'regardless of party, and regardless of how many total votes they get'proceed to the November general election. This means that in some races, two Republicans or two Democrats might square off in the fall, or an independent could slip through in place of a major-party candidate.
It also means that a number of California contests which only feature two notable candidates will be re-fought again this fall, assuming there are no major upsets tonight. We've broken those races out in a separate list; we aren't providing write-ups for them, though, because generally speaking, there's no action to be had in this group. The only thing to look for will be tea leaves for the November ballot. But many other California races feature spots in the top-two which are up for grabs, and those are detailed below. And while strictly speaking there are no longer partisan primaries, in most cases, the fight for second place is on one side of the aisle, which we've identified in our headers.
P.S. You can find our own interactive, zoomable Google Maps versions of each state's new congressional map here.
' CA-02 (D): The new 2nd is the successor district to the current Marin County-based 6th, at 71 percent Obama one of the bluest mostly white, mostly suburban districts anywhere in the country. Long-time Rep. Lynn Woolsey is retiring, opening up the chance to get some new progressive blood in the House. Democratic Assemblyman Jared Huffman has been viewed as the de facto frontrunner here, and the main question has been which Democrat emerges from the top-two primary to face Huffman in November. Activist Norman Solomon seems the likeliest to survive, at least based on his own internal polling; that would set up a bit of a netroots-versus-establishment battle, although this may be more a matter of temperament than actual ideology. Other Democrats in the race are EMILY's List-backed businesswoman Stacey Lawson (who was in second in the only other poll we've seen, a Huffman internal), Marin Co. Supervisor Susan Adams and Petaluma City Councilor Tiffany Renee. One other possibility, given how fractured the Democratic field is, is that Republican Dan Roberts could grab the second spot, though he'd be doomed in November. (David Jarman)
' CA-08 (R): This newly crafted district centered in Southern California's High Desert region should serve as a nice case study for the new open primary system. The district has a definitive lean to the GOP, and with no prominent Democrats in the mix, could yield a Republican-on-Republican showdown in November. However, damned near anyone with some name recognition and an "R" besides their name filed for this seat, meaning that the top two here could come with 20 percent or less of the vote'and that could allow one of the Democratic Some Dudes to make it to an anticlimactic November election. The leading GOPers to watch tomorrow include state Assemblyman Paul Cook, San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt and Victorville Mayor Ryan McEachron. An interesting wildcard is the lone independent in the field: former GOP assemblyman Anthony Adams. His switch to indy status, unlike that of Linda Parks in CA-26, was probably not the result of political calculation: Adams was the target of a recall effort a few years back for supporting a Democratic budget proposal. (Steve Singiser)
' CA-10 (D versus I): Freshman GOP Rep. Jeff Denham took a bit of a hit in California's redistricting process, seeing his district absorb significant portions of territory previously represented by Democrats Dennis Cardoza and Jerry McNerney. The end result of the process moved the needle on Denham's district from being one that John McCain won by a 52-46 margin in 2008 to one that Barack Obama carried by 50-47. Democrats are excited about the candidacy of former NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, whose profile received an unwitting boost by local Republicans who unsuccessfully tried to strip him of his "astronaut" designation on the primary ballot. The wildcard here is independent Chad Condit (son of Democratic ex-Rep. Gary Condit), who enjoys residual name recognition but has lagged badly behind Denham and Hernandez in fundraising. (James L)
Head below the fold for the rest of our writeups.
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