Key races to watch in March 5 primary
Primary season is officially underway for the 22 million registered voters in California. Ballots have already gone out for the March 5 primary, in which voters will choose their nominees for president, and also weigh in on a number of state and local contests that could have big ramifications for the state’s future.
Voters will have their say on a ballot measure championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would finance mental health treatment; choose candidates for the state Legislature; and decide many local races, including the crowded contest for district attorney in Los Angeles.
Ballots were sent on Feb. 5 to every registered voter in the state, and they can be returned by mail or handed in at secure drop-off locations or county elections offices. Some locations for early inperson voting will open Saturday. Here are some of the key races.
Senate seat
When Dianne Feinstein died in September, the U.S. Senate seat that she had held for more than three decades fell vacant. Newsom swiftly appointed Laphonza Butler to serve until elections could be held to fill the vacancy, and Butler decided not to run, clearing the way for an open primary race.
Four leading candidates have emerged from a crowded field:
Rep. Adam Schiff, 63, Democrat of Burbank, currently the front-runner in polls and perhaps best known for having served as the lead prosecutor in the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump.
Rep. Katie Porter, 50, an Orange County Democrat known for grilling powerful leaders during congressional hearings.
Rep. Barbara Lee, 77, Democrat of Oakland and a longtime progressive.
Steve Garvey, 75, a former first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres and the only Republican among the four leaders.
In California’s election system, all candidates, regardless of party, compete
in a single primary, and the two who receive the most votes advance to the general election. For a while, it seemed that Schiff and Porter were headed for an intraparty battle in November. But Garvey’s fame and some strategic ads from Schiff have made Garvey a serious threat to knock Porter out of the running.
U.S. House
Though California is generally a heavily blue state, there are pockets of red and purple, and some congressional districts in suburban areas and the Central Valley are competitive.
Narrow victories by Republicans in the San Joaquin Valley, Orange County and other more conservative parts of the state in 2022 helped their party take control of the House.
California is likely to play a big role in determining control of the House again this year. Republicans now only have a seven-seat majority in the House, and California’s delegation has 40 Democrats, 11 Republicans and one vacant seat.
Of the 72 most competitive House races in the nation, 10 are in California, according to the Cook Political Report.
Many of them involve the same districts where races were extremely close in 2022, including the 47th District seat in Orange County, which Porter is giving up to run for the Senate; the 27th District in northern Los Angeles County, represented by Mike Garcia, a Republican; and the 22nd District in the Central Valley, where David Valadao, a Republican, won with 51.5% of the vote in 2022.
LA prosecutor
George Gascón was elected in 2020 to be the district attorney of Los Angeles County, in what was then seen as a major victory for the movement to back liberal prosecutors after nationwide protests against police brutality.
Gascón, 69, is running for reelection this year, but this time the race feels much more traditional, animated by crime concerns rather than by reducing racial disparities and reining in the police.