Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, appeared poised to move to a November battle for California’s open U.S. Senate seat.
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The poll showed Attorney General Kamala Harris leads among likely voters with 29 percent, followed by Democratic candidate Loretta Sanchez with 15 percent.
California’s other U.S. Senator, Dianne Feinstein, has been in her current position since November 1992. In 2011, she became the first woman, African American, and Asian American to be elected attorney general in the state. And I am just thrilled.
The Associated Press has declared that Attorney General Kamala Harris has clinched first place in the primary, earning her a spot in the runoff.
Sanchez touted her experience on the House Homeland Security and Armed Services committees while listing her liberal legislative stances such as voting against the Iraq war and the Patriot Act.
Under the state’s primary system, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election. She also boasts the endorsement of California Gov. Overall, 45 percent of California voters are registered as Democrats, 27 percent as Republicans, and 23 percent are registered as having “no party preference”. She is supported by more than a dozen members of Congress from California. He estimates when all the ballots are counted, the primary will show 45 percent turnout and he anticipates about 75 percent turnout in November. California had a surge of last-minute voter registrations – 76 percent of which were Democrats. Sanchez, a Blue Dog Democrat, could attract GOP crossover votes, while Harris has the backing of high-profile Democrats like Gov.
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. His supporters include Rep. Tom McClintock and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes. Jeff Denham and David Valadao, who represent parts of the Central Valley. The two were running about even in Orange County, where about one in three people are Hispanic. Duf Sundhein, the leading Republican candidate and former chairman of the California Republican Party, placed third with 9 percent of the vote.
“It’s been an exciting campaign and we’re getting ready for round two, so we need all – all of you, all of you – to be with us”, she said.
Harris has a better name recognition in the state.
Against a Republican, Kamala Harris, a rising star in the national Democratic Party, would be the prohibitive favorite. Sanchez and Harris are both the children of immigrants and have touted their roots on the campaign trail. Now, as then, Sanchez is counting on deep support from Latinos. Instead, congressional hopefuls of both parties were expected to all compete in the same primary race, CNN reports. That is likely to change as they enter the next phase of the contest. She also is favored by younger voters, drawing 31 percent from 18 to 29 year olds, versus Harris with 16 percent. She also starts the general election with $4.7 million in cash. If Sanchez wins, she will become the country’s first ever Latina senator.
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Sanchez surprised many in the political world when she was elected to the House of Representatives 20 years ago, beating a Republican incumbent in Orange County, which for decades had been a Republican stronghold.
