California voters will set matchups for key US House races on Super Tuesday
SACRAMENTO, California — California voters will set up matchups for some of the nation’s most competitive US House races, which could help determine which party controls the Chamber next year.
All 52 of California’s congressional seats have primaries on Tuesday, with the top two vote-getters in each race advancing to the general election — regardless of political party. About ten of those seats are competitive, and a handful are considered toss-ups.
Despite California’s liberal reputation, conservatives still have strength in Southern California’s suburbs and the Central Valley farm belt.
Among Democrats, several primaries have become particularly nasty as multiple candidates compete for a spot on the November ballot.
Currently, there are 219 Republicans in the House of Representatives, 213 Democrats and three vacancies.
Here’s a look at the most competitive races in California:
On paper, a Democrat should represent this Central Valley farming district. The party has a 16-point lead over Republicans among registered voters. But Republican David Valadao held the seat from 2013 to 2019, losing it for one term and then regaining it in 2020.
Valadao defeated former State Assembly member Rudy Salas in 2022. Salas is trying again this year, and he has the support of the Democratic Party and prominent officials like Gov. Gavin Newsom. But Democratic Senator Melissa Hurtado is also vying for the seat. Meanwhile, Republican farmer Chris Mathys is competing with Valadao for votes for the Republican party.
It’s possible that Salas and Hurtado — two state lawmakers well known in the district — could splinter the Democratic vote and allow both Republicans to advance to the general election. That would be a blow to Democrats’ chances of retaking the House of Representatives.
Newsom recently made a fundraising pitch on behalf of Salas, warning of a “Deep risk of two Republicans reaching the general election.”
With Democratic Rep. Katie Porter running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, Republicans are hoping to retake what had been a reliably conservative seat.
Leading the Republican Party is Scott Baugh, a former member of the State Assembly who narrowly lost to Porter in 2022. Meanwhile, two Democrats are vying for votes: state Sen. Dave Min and Joanna Weiss, who founded an organization to promote progressive candidates.
The race between Min and Weiss is one of the nastiest of this cycle, with each campaign relentlessly attacking the other. That also means that they easily hand out election fodder to the Republicans.
Weiss’ campaign is going after Min over a drunk driving arrest last year. Min has accused Weiss of funding her campaign with money her husband earned as a lawyer defending Catholic priests found guilty of abusing children. Weiss’ campaign says her husband never defended a Catholic priest, saying she lent money to the campaign from a home equity line of credit.
Porter is backing Min, who also has the backing of the state party. Weiss is endorsed by Emily’s List, which supports Democratic women who support abortion rights, and by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.
South Korean immigrant Michelle Steel, a Republican, has represented this Orange County district since 2020.
The district was brought in to give Asian Americans a stronger voice in Washington and is home to the nation’s largest Vietnamese community.
Four Democrats are running for office. The state party has endorsed Kim Nguyen-Penaloza, the daughter of a Vietnamese refugee father and a Mexican immigrant mother.
Voters in this district, which includes parts of Orange and San Diego counties, chose Democrat Mike Levin in 2018 to replace longtime Republican Darrell Issa, who has since returned to Congress in a neighboring district.
Levin has since been re-elected twice: by six points in 2020 and by five points in 2022.
California’s coastal districts lean Democratic, but Republicans believe they have a chance to oust Levin. Four Republicans are trying: former auto driver Sheryl Adams, car dealer Matt Gunderson, Marine Corps veteran Kate Monroe and communications director Margarita Wilkinson.
Mike Garcia, the last Republican House member to settle in Los Angeles County, has somehow found a way to win not just once but three times in a district where registered Democrats outnumber registered Democrats by 12 points. the Republicans.
Garcia gets help from both his background as a former Marine fighter pilot and his last name, which comes from his Mexican immigrant father and is well-known in a district with a sizable Latino population.
Garcia’s main competitor is Democrat George Whitesides. The former NASA chief of staff has emphasized abortion rights and environmental protections while trying to brand Garcia as out of step with the district.
Republican Ken Calvert is the longest-serving Republican in California’s congressional delegation, having held his seat in this district east of Los Angeles since 1993. He won in 2022 by about 5 points in a district roughly evenly split between Republican and Democratic voters. .
Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor who lost to Calvert in 2022, is trying again this year. He is supported by the campaign arm of the Democrats in the House of Representatives. Rollins, who is gay, could gain significant support in the city of Palm Springs, which has a sizable LGBTQ+ population.