Under California law, the two top vote-getters in the primary will face each other in November. She was considered the front-runner ever since she declared her candidacy in January of 2015, and she’s been endorsed by a good chunk of the establishment, including the state Democratic Party and Governor Jerry Brown.
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Sundheim has said the Republican-controlled Senate should have taken up hearings for President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee this year.
Harris, 51, has been buoyed by greater name recognition statewide, having twice won election to her current post while Sanchez has been more of a local phenomenon since upsetting Republican incumbent Bob Dornan in 1996.
But Sanchez led Republicans Duf Sundheim, Phil Wyman and Tom Del Beccaro – and the rest of the 34-candidate field – laying the groundwork for what would bea November race between two Democratic women.
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said she would retire at the end of her term. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is also Hispanic, is the Democratic candidate for outgoing Sen. She would become the first Indian woman to hold a Senate seat and the second black woman elected to the Senate. Harry Reid’s seat in Nevada.
California’s primary has triggered a surge of interest, with voter registration hitting a primary election record of 17.9 million.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders remained locked in a Democratic presidential primary contest while Donald Trump easily won on the Republican side as voters also cast ballots for a new US senator and a host of other offices in California’s late-season primary.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, representing the Bakersfield-based 23rd District, spent more than $2.1 million from January 1 to mid-May to strengthen his standing even without a well-funded challenger, running TV and radio ads in the primary’s final days. Jeff Denham and David Valadao, who represent parts of the Central Valley. Issa has been a staunch Trump supporter, and there could be blowback from voters that could benefit Democratic challenger Doug Applegate.
For the primary, Harris ran a tightly controlled campaign, touting her role negotiating a settlement with big banks over the mortgage meltdown and using her position as the state’s top prosecutor to fight human trafficking, cyber crime and other issues.
Under election rules that were first implemented in 2009, candidates for any office in the Golden State all compete on the same primary ballot regardless of party. Harris also has been backed by some of the state’s largest labor unions, the Congressional Black Caucus’s PAC and Massachusetts Sen.
But if early results hold, Sanchez will have considerable catching up to do on the campaign trail. Her sister, Linda Sanchez, is also a Southern California congresswoman. That is likely to change as they enter the next phase of the contest.
Harris is the daughter of two college professors. Sanchez, who has served in Congress since 1997, cast her ballot in Orange County Tuesday morning.
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Sanchez, who appeared at the Anaheim Brewery for her election party, was upbeat despite trailing Harris by double digits. Others, however, are already looking forward to a Harris-Sanchez general election, and are quietly backing the more centrist, “pro-business” Sanchez.
