California’s Top-Two Primary Isn’t Making Politics Better
A nonpartisan system was supposed to boost more mainstream candidates, but it has led to chaos and gamesmanship.
California Democrats want to talk about California Republicans.
Photographer: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.California is a very blue state, so the question in its 2024 US Senate race isn’t whether a Democrat will fill the seat long held by the late Dianne Feinstein, but which Democrat. The leading contender, Representative Adam Schiff, is a standard-issue liberal supported by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But he’s facing serious challengers from the left: Representative Katie Porter, endorsed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Representative Barbara Lee, the longtime progressive champion.
So why is Schiff is running ads about Republican Steve Garvey, ads that are nominally critical but are clearly intended to raise Garvey’s profile and encourage Republicans to vote for him in Tuesday’s primary? Porter, meanwhile, has ads disparaging Garvey and touting another Republican, Eric Early, as “MAGA’s Man in California.”