California Republicans see chance to unseat Democratic AG
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Republicans think they have a chance this year to unseat an appointed state attorney general they say is too progressive even for California, in part because they view him as soft on crime as that issue rises in importance for voters.
But first they must avoid dividing the party and perhaps alienating key independent voters during a primary campaign featuring three main candidates seeking to defeat Rob Bonta.
In California, the two top primary vote-getters advance to the November general election regardless of party affiliation. Bonta is the only Democrat and is considered a shoo-in to advance out of the June 7 primary.
Two Republicans are running and so is a district attorney who gave up her GOP affiliation four years ago and is running as an independent, a label some see as more inviting to voters in a state that overwhelmingly favors Democrats.
The race may show whether voters want a new direction after they previously eased criminal sentences to reduce prison crowding. And with little drama expected in
the contests for California governor and U.S. Senate, it’s one of the most visible races this election year.
The job of California attorney general has been a launching pad for many — Earl Warren went on to become chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Edmund “Pat” Brown became governor and his son, Jerry, resurrected his political career by winning the office and then going on to become governor again more than three decades after first holding the job.
The two attorneys general before Bonta were Kamala Harris, who went on to the U.S. Senate and now is vice president, and Xavier Becerra, the Biden administration’s secretary of Health and Human Services.
California’s last Republican attorney general left
office in 1999 and the party hasn’t won a statewide election since 2006. The GOP hopes to capitalize this year by drawing attention to what Republicans say are Democratic failures to curb violent crime and reduce homelessness.
The state GOP endorsed Nathan Hochman, a former assistant U.S. attorney general who says his goals are “to prevent crime, end the opioid epidemic, and tackle homelessness.”
Also running is Republican private attorney Eric Early, who was lead legal counsel for the unsuccessful effort to recall Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last year. Early finished last in a four-way primary election for attorney general in 2018.
Many law enforcement leaders are backing Sacramento County District
Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who is running as a no-party-preference candidate. Schubert is best known for leading the effort to identify and successfully prosecute the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, a serial killer who avoided arrest for decades.
“It’s still very much Bonta’s race to lose,” said veteran Republican political consultant Mike Madrid, who is not involved in any of the campaigns. “He’s a Democrat with a ballot label that will say ‘attorney general’ in a very, very blue state.”
No independent has ever won statewide office in California and Madrid said Schubert needs to find a way to appeal to Democrats. “If she gets out of the primary with a significant share of the Democratic base, she probably wins the general,” he said.
Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College gives her “a real shot,” noting she is not affiliated with the far right of the GOP and that California voters have sometimes shown a criminal justice conservative streak, for instance by rejecting efforts to end cash bail and the death penalty.