Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Candidates Make Final Appeals to California's Lopsided Electorate
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
November 6, 2018

Share

LOS ANGELES — Thousands of volunteers knocked on doors and dialed phones Monday while candidates across California made their final arguments to voters in an election where Democrats look to keep their stranglehold on state offices and add to their advantage in the 53-seat congressional delegation.

Polls will be open statewide from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, and early voters must have their ballots postmarked by Tuesday to have them counted. The secretary of state’s office says 19.7 million people are registered to vote.

Democrats have chased Republicans from many California offices and are poised to hold that ground and perhaps gain more.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is the strong favorite over Republican businessman John Cox to succeed Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown. For the second consecutive general election, there isn’t even a Republican on the ballot for U.S. Senate. This time, Sen. Dianne Feinstein has coasted against Democratic state Sen. Kevin de Leon.

State Senate Supermajority on Horizon?

In the Legislature, the question isn’t whether Democrats will control the Assembly and Senate again — no one doubts that. It’s whether Democrats get a veto-proof supermajority in the state Senate to add to their supermajority in the Assembly.

The status would allow them to raise taxes, suspend legislative rules and override vetoes without needing GOP votes.

Republicans hold just 14 congressional seats statewide, but seven of those districts were carried by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and are battlegrounds this time around. Democrats don’t appear in danger in any of the 39 districts they hold.

Era of One Party State

The trajectory of the election appears headed toward “the era of being a one-party state and the interesting internal conflicts that come with that,” University of California, San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser said Monday.

He pointed out that the drama in the governor’s race this year was during the primary between Newsom and fellow Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa, with Cox seen as a longshot from the start.

“What happens when you have one-party states? What you see is these fights within parties,” Kousser said.

In San Francisco, Feinstein dropped off her ballot at City Hall, where the 85-year-old Democrat urged residents to vote.

“Of course, I hope more Democrats vote than Republicans, but in any event, everyone should vote,” she said.

California’s Generational Shift

Democrats hold a 3.7 million edge in voter registrations, and Republicans are also outnumbered by independents, who in California tend to vote like Democrats.

Of 1.4 million new registrations this year, only 187,000 signed up as Republicans, or roughly 14 percent, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan research firm Political Data Inc. The largest group of new voters signed up as independents.

Just a generation ago, California was a reliably Republican state in presidential contests. But a surge in immigrants transformed the state and its voting patterns. The number of Hispanics, blacks and Asians combined has outnumbered whites in the state since 1998. New voters, largely Latinos and Asians, lean Democratic.

DON'T MISS

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

DON'T MISS

Cat House on the Kings Urgently Needs You to Donate Dollars and Adopt Your New Best Friend

DON'T MISS

The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’

DON'T MISS

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

DON'T MISS

FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

DON'T MISS

In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day

DON'T MISS

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

It’s Eggnog Season. The Boozy Beverage Dates Back to Medieval England but Remains a Holiday Hit

DON'T MISS

9-Year-Old Among 5 Killed in Christmas Market Attack in Germany

DON'T MISS

Biden Signs Bill That Averts Government Shutdown, and Brings a Close to Days of Washington Upheaval

UP NEXT

University of California Campuses Resolve Discrimination Complaints Stemming From Gaza Protests

UP NEXT

California Declared an Emergency Over Bird Flu. How Serious Is the Situation?

UP NEXT

Chinese National Charged With Acting as Beijing’s Agent in Local California Election

UP NEXT

CA Lemon Law Will Provide Car Buyers Fewer Protections in 2025

UP NEXT

FBI Raids Home of LA Deputy Mayor Following City Hall Bomb Threat Probe

UP NEXT

White House Pushes to Find American Journalist Abducted in Syria

UP NEXT

Liberal Donors Plot to Overturn Republican House Majority in 2026

UP NEXT

The ‘Murder Hornet’ Has Been Eradicated From US, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Gov. Newsom Declares State of Emergency Over Bird Flu Outbreak

UP NEXT

Troubled California Teens Gain Protections Under Law Championed by Paris Hilton

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

17 hours ago

FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

17 hours ago

In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day

18 hours ago

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

18 hours ago

It’s Eggnog Season. The Boozy Beverage Dates Back to Medieval England but Remains a Holiday Hit

18 hours ago

9-Year-Old Among 5 Killed in Christmas Market Attack in Germany

18 hours ago

Biden Signs Bill That Averts Government Shutdown, and Brings a Close to Days of Washington Upheaval

19 hours ago

This French Bulldog Is So Fetch: Meet Toaster Strudel

20 hours ago

The Fed Expects to Cut Rates More Slowly in 2025. What That Could Mean for Mortgages, Debt and More

23 hours ago

New California Voter ID Ban Puts Conservative Cities at Odds With State

24 hours ago

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

In a recent interview, renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs outlined his concerns about the possibility of war with Iran, framing it as the culm...

15 hours ago

15 hours ago

Jeffrey Sachs Warns of Looming US War With Iran

16 hours ago

Cat House on the Kings Urgently Needs You to Donate Dollars and Adopt Your New Best Friend

17 hours ago

The Surprising Sexual Politics of Nicole Kidman’s Kinky ‘Babygirl’

17 hours ago

Why It’s Hard to Control What Gets Taught in Public Schools

17 hours ago

FDA Approves Weight-Loss Drug to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

18 hours ago

In a Calendar Rarity, Hanukkah Starts This Year on Christmas Day

18 hours ago

A Look at the $100 Billion in Disaster Relief in the Government Spending Bill

18 hours ago

It’s Eggnog Season. The Boozy Beverage Dates Back to Medieval England but Remains a Holiday Hit

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend