In San Luis Obispo County, Little had received 499 votes as of Tuesday night, less than 1 percent of the total vote.
Advertisement
But looming over the campaign as the November general election got underway Wednesday is, of course, President Trump. And because Republicans have slipped behind no-party-preference voters in California – they’re about a quarter of the electorate now – there was a real big fear among Democrats that they could just miss out on this top-of-the-ticket race. Keep in mind, for instance, that there is now a Democratic senator from Alabama because the state’s Republican Party could not figure out how to prevent its voters from backing an accused child molester, Roy Moore.
On Tuesday, a series of mostly primary elections were held in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, Alabama, and South Dakota. Or will grassroots energy on the left and hostility towards US President Donald Trump spur a turnout differential strongly in favour of Democrats?
The crucial House races in California yielded more mixed results.
Still, Cox showed no signs of moderating the aggressive tone that generated excitement among conservatives, saying “Gavin Newsom wants to turn this state into Venezuela”.
Republicans now hold a 241-194 advantage over Democrats in the House and very slim 51-47 lead in the Senate, with two independents caucusing with Democrats.
From latest data available, at least 117 women are running for office in the 2018 primaries.
In 2010, after controlling both chambers, Democrats gave up six Senate seats while maintaining a slim three-seat majority, and lost 63 House seats to hand the Republicans a majority. Yet the winners and losers in California’s most competitive races could take days to sort out given the state’s unique election laws. Neither party immediately appeared to suffer major setbacks. “Even Fake News CNN said the Trump impact was really big, much bigger than they ever thought possible”, Trump wrote.
Cox responded in his own speech the same night: “It wasn’t Donald Trump who made us the highest tax state in the country”.
On June 7th, Trump tweeted: “Great night for Republicans!”
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who stepped in previous year when Robert Bentley resigned (becoming the state’s first female governor), beat out Tommy Battle, state Sen.
Longtime Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein will once again face California voters in November, after ousting challengers yesterday.
No other state has as many potential conversions as California, which will keep the focus there for the rest of the election year. They’re seen as key to Democratic efforts to regain control in the House of Representatives. Across the country Democrats need to flip 23 seats to secure a House majority.
In New Mexico, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham won her party’s nomination in the race to succeed outgoing Republican Governor Susana Martinez.
Some of these winning women could make history if they win their general election contests.
In Missouri’s 17th state senate district, two-term state representative Lauren Arthur beat her Republican opponent by a 19-point landslide in a district Trump won by five points.
Menendez’s opponent in November will be Republican businessman Bob Hugin, who won 75 percent in his primary.
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez won a spot on the ballot with slim margins for an incumbent senator (62% to 40%) after barely escaping bribery charges previous year over hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts he received from an eye doctor now convicted of fraud.
What’s more, Democrats turned out at higher levels than Republicans in every single contest in the state where there was a competitive primary.
Republican Rep. Jeff Denham appeared to be headed for a showdown with Democrat Josh Harder, a venture capitalist, in California’s 10th Congressional District.
Democrats also put forward candidates in New Jersey that they believe will have a good chance of picking up a couple of Republican-held seats left open by retirements, and put up strong challenges against Republican Reps. In the third, Issa’s district, Republican Diane Harkey was leading in early returns, as two Democrats vied for the second slot.
Republican Rep. Mimi Walters easily advanced to the November election in her Orange County district that has been targeted by Democrats. He notched about 30 percent in a large field, though the second-place finisher remained unclear.
Advertisement
Party members had been anxious they might get shut out of key House races.
