Divergent views on world conflicts didn't impact election

Scant attention was paid to the North Bay partisan elections in the March primary. That overlooks political nuances with long-term implications.

In the solidly Democratic North Bay-North Coast Second Congressional District, the incumbent, San Rafael Democrat Jared Huffman, unsurprisingly finished first in a landslide.

Pursuant to California's “top-two” election law, the second-place finisher in the primary faces Huffman in the November runoff. While Huffman's chance of losing that race is slim, two Republicans, Chris Coulombe of Sebastopol and Novato's Tief Gibbs, fought hard to make that runoff. Coulombe will be his opponent.

One key issue that dominates the current political conversation and has created a division among Democrats is the war between Israel and Hamas, The latter has been officially declared by the U.S. to be a terrorist organization. It's revealing that Huffman's vocal support of Israel over Hamas didn't have an impact on his total vote.

Many in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party are critical of Huffman's pro-Israel position and his alignment with President Joe Biden's effort to assist in Israel's resistance to Hamas' invasion of Israel and the taking of civilian hostages. Those on the Democrats' left wing tend to support the Palestinian position over that of the Jewish state.

If the progressives formed a significant voting bloc, we'd expect to see their influence in Huffman's relative standing in the primary's outcome.

Huffman is involved in setting American policy regarding Israel and Hamas as a member of the U.S. Congress, the venue where debate over foreign policy properly occurs.

Contrast that with another San Rafael Democrat, Marin-Sonoma state Assemblymember Damon Connolly, who was also on the primary ballot.

The state Legislature's assignment is setting policy and overseeing the Golden State's government.

In short, this month's election returns are showing that the Middle East conflict had no impact on the results. Preliminary results from Marin and Sonoma, the two counties where Huffman and Connolly district boundaries somewhat overlap, tell the story.

Huffman achieved 81.82% of the Marin vote and 74.9% in Sonoma. Connolly scored 81.18% in Marin and earned 73.19% in Sonoma. The numbers for both were lower in Sonoma as it has a larger Republican registration than Marin.

Essentially, Huffman and Connolly enjoyed the same level of support. The oddity is that Huffman faced opposition from the party's progressives and Connolly didn't. Huffman's results imply that the progressives' voting numbers are small and their electoral impact negligible.

Unrelated to the Gaza conflict is the race for second place in the Second Congressional District's top-two primary.

Coloumbe is a retired Army officer. A traditional policy-oriented Republican, Coloumbe avoids the divisive cultural wars. He is one of the best candidates the North Bay GOP has offered in years.

In Connolly's Assembly District 12, the secondplace outcome between two Republicans is closer. It appears Novato vintner Andrew Podshadley will make November's runoff over San Quentin Correctional Officer Eryn Cervantes.

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Time is short for Marin residents to file an application for being a delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention. The Chicago conclave runs Aug. 19-20. While Biden is virtually assured to be renominated (and Chicago in August is a sweat bath), national political conventions are always exciting. Surprises do occasionally happen.

Golden State Democrats will send 496 delegates and 35 alternates to the Windy City. Of those, seven delegates and one alternate comes from our North Bay-North Coast Second Congressional District.

To request a delegate application, email delegate2024@caldem.org.

The deadline to file is Thursday. From among the applicants, presidential campaigns will pick the finalists. Given that Biden won 90% of the March 5 primary vote, his organization will pick from among the applicants.

Columnist Dick Spotswood of Mill Valley writes on local issues Sundays and Wednesdays. Email him at spotswood@comcast.net.