Democrats California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Republicans Tom Del Becarro, Duf Sundheim and Ron Unz each seek one of the two slots on the November ballot.
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Harris performed strongly in the San Francisco Bay Area, her stronghold, but was also leading in strongly Hispanic Los Angeles County and was about tied with Sanchez in the congresswoman’s home county, Orange.
In the face of long odds, Sanchez and her campaign team sound undaunted.
The election of either Harris or Sanchez would be historic.
“It’s exciting to see the race being dominated by two experienced and qualified democratic women, one of whom will be our Senator”, said CalSERVE Senator Rigel Robinson in an email. But even a million-dollar campaign to lure them in, if it ever materializes, may not be almost enough in a state where Democrats hold a 3.14-million-person edge in voter registration. After graduating from law school, she began working in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, specializing in prosecuting child sexual assault cases. Thirty-four candidates appeared on the ballot, and Harris received a commanding 40 percent of the vote with Sanchez garnering 17 percent.
If early vote returns hold, for the first time, California Republicans voting in the general election this November won’t have a Senate candidate from their party on the ballot. The seat will be vacated by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a liberal favorite first elected a generation ago, in 1992.
The top two finishers face each other in the November general election.
These means that Harris will be facing fellow Democrat Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange County, who trailed Harris with 16 percent of the vote, for the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. “I’m not turning my back on any voter”.
Republican candidates were lagging in single digits.
She stressed she is the only candidate in the race with national security experience, noting her service on the House Armed Services Committee and Homeland Security Committee that makes her “well-versed in issues of defense, foreign relations and national security – issues that a U.S. Senator must be familiar with if they are to cast votes to confirm presidential appointments or ratify treaties”.
“Two Democrats could end up being the nominees”, Schickler said ahead of results.
Attorney Wylie Aitken, the political mentor who helped Sanchez upset Republican incumbent Bob Dornan in 1996, believes Harris has exhausted her fundraising potential and spent most of her money.
Emory Rodgers, a Democratic candidate who ran in the primary election as a progressive Democrat, sought to use Bernie Sanders’ model to gain traction over social media and raise campaign funds, according to his campaign manager Max Smerling.
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Rodgers garnered a low percentage of votes in the election – less than 1 percent. “My main reason for running has been to draw attention to important policy issues such as raising the minimum wage and drastically reducing total immigration, especially the second since virtually no politicians now take that position”, he said. “He wanted to get in the race to change the conversation”. Interestingly, no Republican made it to the final, making straight fight between two Democrats.
