Good morning. It’s Election Day in California, as voters prepare to cast their ballots in the state’s high-stakes primaries. Laurel Rosenhall and Shane Goldmacher, Times reporters who cover California and national politics, highlight some of the dynamics at play today.
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| Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images |
What to Watch in California’s Primary
For the first time in more than two decades, California voters are about to pick a new governor who is not already a national figure.
The race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom has been a tumultuous affair. It began with Kamala Harris’s flirtation with a run. It continued with Senator Alex Padilla’s brief consideration. Representative Eric Swalwell entered the race, only to implode with a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations that resulted in his resignation from Congress rather than promotion.
Voters have been left sifting through about a half-dozen contenders who have mostly struggled to capture their imagination. The top two vote getters advance to a November runoff, regardless of party.
The most intense contest has been between the race’s two highest polling Democrats, Tom Steyer, the billionaire financier who has run hard to the left, and Xavier Becerra, the former state attorney general and health secretary under former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who would be the state’s first Latino governor in the modern era. President Trump endorsed Steve Hilton, a Republican former Fox News personality, giving him an edge to advance because there are only two serious Republicans in a race with far more Democrats.
California counts its votes slowly, so don’t necessarily expect the results to be clear on Tuesday night. Read more here about the contest for governor, the Los Angeles mayoral race featuring a former reality television star and other key congressional battles across the state.
More from our election coverage
- The redistricting effect: The state now has just four districts considered safe for Republicans. Here are some of the more dramatic changes to the state’s congressional map.
- Candidates for governor: A long list of 61 names will appear on the ballot. Here is an overview of the front-runners.
- A gender disparity: California sees itself as a progressive trailblazer on many fronts, but it has never elected a woman governor. Why?
- The latest polling: See where voters stand in the L.A. mayor’s race and the California governor’s contest.
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