I need info on state and fed candidates. Where to look?

[Gregorian]

Last edited Wed May 16, 2012, 07:05 PM - Edit history (2)

For some reason, this year I'm coming up empty on who to vote for. I've seen a little here on this forum. Not all of the candidates have given statements. Also, for example, I am in District 2, and Pamela Elizondo sounds great. But for all I know she's some wackjob. I like hearing from others before I make my decisions.

Thanks.

edit- Well, so far it looks like Solomon and Levitt are hard to beat. And the surprise of the century is that Courtney is running. I shared a rental house with him. Very odd seeing his face on the ballot.

[Gregorian]

2. Hint hint- California forum...

[bananas]

3. Some of the standard places

Cal nurses assoc http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/legislation/entry/ca-endorsements/
League of women voters http://ca.lwv.org/
Courage campaign http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/download-our-june-5th-voter-guide
state and local democratic party websites

[Gregorian]

4. Thank you. I thought it was the LWV that I had used before.

This is so weird. Courtney, running for a House seat, says things in his bio that I know for a fact are untrue. What a trip it is to actually know one of these candidates. Makes me feel kind of good about my own value.

[roody]

5. Solomon is the real thing.

I am voting for him. He has been in the struggle for decades. I am a registered Green.

[Gregorian]

6. It looks that way from what I can see, and what I've read on this forum.

Otherwise, it's hard to get a good picture of the candidates. One way is by the type of website they have. I rely on other's experience to help me decide. Everything else is somewhat superficial.

Solomon appears to be totally dedicated to what he's doing. Kind of a Grayson, Kucinich type.

Thanks.

[jacobs27]

7. 2012 California US Senate Race

2012 California US Senate Race

[Liberty Belle]

8. Two good sites: www.votesmart.org and www.smartvoter.org

Smart Voter is run by the League of Women Voters in CA. They have statements provided by candidates but in a lot more detail than is allowed on ballot statements.

VoteSmart is a fantastic site that lists ratings by special interest groups for incumbents, as well as how much money candidates got (and who they got it from), quotes they've made, as well as bio info and issue positions.

Both are nonpartisan.

[Gregorian]

9. Thanks, even if my absentee ballot is already sent.

I wish I could have seen those statements before. But I'm pretty happy with who I voted for. Sadly, my dad fell into the lazy trap of not spending the energy, and he voted for Feinstein! That's why we have the mess we're in today. Oh well.

[Retrograde]

10. Voting for Feinstein isn't necessarily lazy

Because of a proposition passed in 2010, we no longer have primaries the old fashioned way, where each party gets to run its own candidates. Instead, there's one huge state-wide primary for senator, and the top two vote getters go on to the final in November. A best case scenario would have 2 Democrats in November: a worst case is 2 Republicans. I voted for Feinstein because I don't want the Democratic vote to be so diluted that one or more of the 14 Republican candidates to get on the November ballot. Ideally, we'll get Feinstein and another Democrat so we have a decent choice in November.

[Gregorian]

11. Damnit, I really should have paid more attention to that.

I knew that was what was going on, but I just voted for the candidate that I felt was best. Oops. I'm not too thrilled about this new election setup.

Thanks for bringing it back to my attention. We'll see...