California Political Procedural Question for Bob #####
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2026 5:01 pm
I read an article today on the Daily Beast that echoed some things I'd heard earlier and wanted to get your input as someone who is in touch to what's actually going on in California. The state has a "top two" primary in which all candidates, regardless of party, compete on the same ballot and the top two advance to the general election. That sometimes results in two candidates from the same party advancing, usually in districts where one party has a huge voter advantage over the other.
However, even though California has lot's more Democratic voters than Republicans statewide (Adam Schiff beat Republican Steve Garvey 59-41 in the 2024 Senate election), there are apparently two legitimate serious Republican contenders and eight legitimate serious Democratic contenders for the open governor's race. According to this article, the two Republicans are splitting the smaller Republican slice of the electorate fairly evenly, while the eight Democrats are doing the same. The result is that the two Republicans could be the top two vote getters and the governor would be a Republican.
Is this a realistic scenario? If so, are the Democrats planning to do something about this, such as some of them dropping out of the race for the good of the state? Or are they willing to risk everything for the next four years in the hopes of beating out one of the two Republicans?
I'm curious to get your take on this.
However, even though California has lot's more Democratic voters than Republicans statewide (Adam Schiff beat Republican Steve Garvey 59-41 in the 2024 Senate election), there are apparently two legitimate serious Republican contenders and eight legitimate serious Democratic contenders for the open governor's race. According to this article, the two Republicans are splitting the smaller Republican slice of the electorate fairly evenly, while the eight Democrats are doing the same. The result is that the two Republicans could be the top two vote getters and the governor would be a Republican.
Is this a realistic scenario? If so, are the Democrats planning to do something about this, such as some of them dropping out of the race for the good of the state? Or are they willing to risk everything for the next four years in the hopes of beating out one of the two Republicans?
I'm curious to get your take on this.