Democrats are using a new strategy to prevent a primary shutout in California

[RandySF]

Vexed for months over the prospect of getting boxed out of crucial House races after California's primary, Democrats think they've found a way to fight back.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this week began airing television ads that go after two Republicans running for retiring Rep. Ed Royce's seat. The ads made no mention of a third, Young Kim, who has led polls, has the backing of Royce, and is widely seen as the Democrats' most formidable potential opponent in November.

By attacking two Republicans viewed as second-tier, Democrats are hoping to suppress GOP votes for those candidates while ensuring that Kim gets far enough ahead to be the only Republican in the general election. They also hope to avoid explicitly backing or attacking one of their own in the increasingly nasty intraparty fights in some districts.

"We dislike all the Republican candidates, but we're just choosing wisely which ones we're attacking," said one Democratic source familiar with the committee's thinking.

The strategy is part of a new approach to California's top two primary, in which the top two vote-getters on June 5 advance to the general election regardless of party. With at least half a dozen candidates from each major party, the free-for-all to replace Royce (R-Fullerton) could yield a choice between two Republicans.


http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-house-races-top-two-gop-attacks-20180511-story.html

[wryter2000]

1. I hate this open primary crap

Granted, it sometimes goes our way, but there should always be a Democrat running.

[uppityperson]

6. Have you considered the hobby of making glass beads?

You get to play with fire and create beauty.

[Raine]

7. I hate it too

you can end up having no one in your party to vote for because they came in third!

[renegade000]

2. Jungle primaries should be done with ranked choiced systems

It's a flaw that the side with the most enthusiasm and voters could potentially be locked out because of vote splitting between several candidates.

[OnDoutside]

3. There should be some mechanism that Dems drop out in situations like this,

There needs to be pressure applied.

[Garrett78]

8. This is an article I posted recently:

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/03/15/republicans-start-to-wise-up-will-democrats-follow/

But at least the Republicans recognize the danger of having too many candidates for one office.

So far, Democrats hoping to flip some of California’s Republican seats in Congress don’t seem to have gotten this message. It won’t matter in districts with an incumbent running, as that single Republican will make the November ballot along with whoever tops the Democrats in June.

But in the 39th and 49th districts, where longtime incumbents Ed Royce and Darrell Issa are retiring, Democrats risk not making the ballot despite Hillary Clinton’s carrying both districts in 2016.

The bottom line: Just as Ose dropped out for the sake of his party, some Democrats running for Congress must leave the field or risk failure for their party’s efforts to take over control of the House of Representatives.

[OnDoutside]

9. Thanks, that's depressing. Holder and Obama need to intervene. At least, in these

Key districts, they should heavily poll them to show which Dems are performing the best and use that to do the right thing.

[Cha]

4. Best Good Luck to Dems in Cali!