Divided California Democrats hold their breath for congressional ‘jungle primary’ elections where Republicans could snag the top two spots and freeze them out completely

Tuesday, June 5, 2018
By Paul Martin

Republicans in California could pull rabbits out of hats in several California primary races Tuesday
‘Jungle primary’ rules mandate a general election between the top two vote-getters regardless of party
GOP aims to use balanced pairs of candidates in some districts to capture the top two spots and freeze more scattered Democrats out of runoffs
President Trump tweeted support on Tuesday for several California Republicans including gubernatorial candidate John Cox
If Cox snags second place, he could make the November election a real contest and force Democrats to spend heavily to keep their power in California

DAILYMAIL.COM
5 June 2018

Mainly Democratic California goes to the polls Tuesday for ‘jungle’ primaries ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections, with a glut of progressive candidates possibly giving the unexpected upper hand to Republicans in some districts.

Voters in seven other U.S. states are casting ballots on primary day, but the eyes of the nation are looking at the most populous state in America where results could indicate if Democrats have the momentum to retake control of Congress.

In what is being called a ‘jungle’ primary, all candidates run on one ballot in California, irrespective of party, rather than the more traditional system of party primaries. Voters registered with a particular party can vote for whoever they want.

The top two vote getters advance to a head-to-head contest in November.

In a crowded and competitive race – and there are many – it’s possible that two candidates from the same party advance to the runoff in some districts, leaving the other party with no candidate on the November ballot.

That’s a nightmare scenario for Democrats in particular, who claim momentum in some suburban districts but feature packed fields in many cases where a balanced GOP duo could outdraw every Democratic hopeful in an ambitious gaggle of five or six.

National Democrats have spent more than $7 million trying to avoid that fate in districts opened by Republican Ed Royce and Darrell Issa’s retirements and in the district where Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is facing challenges from the left and the right. That’s money that Democrats would have preferred to save for this fall.

There are about 20 people looking to succeed Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, and more than two dozen looking to replace veteran US Senator Dianne Feinstein.

And in the race for California’s 53 seats in the US House of Representatives, the slate of candidates features a plethora of novice Democrats looking to make a statement against Republican President Donald Trump and his anti-immigration, anti-environment policies.

The Rest…HERE

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