Published
4 years agoon
When the state Democratic Party staged a convention in San Francisco a few weeks ago, it drew many of the seemingly countless would-be presidential candidates – particularly those positioning themselves on the party’s left-most wing.
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It was also an opportunity for the national political press corps to assess the candidates’ standing in anticipation that California will play a perhaps decisive role in choosing the Democratic nominee, thanks to moving its presidential primary from June to March next year.Last week, however, a new statewide poll, conducted by the UC-Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, once again indicated that overall, California’s Democratic voters are not as “progressive” as the tenor of the convention might suggest.
It found that Biden is actually leading the big field in California with 22% support among Democratic voters, followed by Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California’s own Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, IN, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Biden, not surprisingly, does particularly well among the third of Democratic voters self-described as moderate or conservative. His presence may undercut Harris’ hopes of a strong win in her home state that would generate a slew of convention delegates.
The IGS poll also found varying degrees of support for the issues that have defined the Democratic presidential contest to date, with the strongest approval for more background checks for gun purchases, increasing taxes on the wealthy and increasing teacher pay and the weakest for “Medicare for all,” reducing criminal penalties, free college tuition and legalizing marijuana.
Other aspects of the IGS poll reinforced the reality that California’s Democratic voters are, in the main, not strongly embracing the progressive agenda.
Barely half, for example, would vote to abolish the death penalty, and that’s also true of support for beginning impeachment proceedings against Trump.
The disconnect between left-leaning Democratic Party activists and the broader array of Democratic voters is not a new phenomenon. It was demonstrated last year when the party endorsed former state Sen. Kevin deLeon’s challenge to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, long a target of left-wing scorn, but she easily captured another term.
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Democrats’ domination of California’s political landscape, and the paucity of Republican voters, make it relatively easy for very liberal candidates connected to the party’s left-leaning interest groups to win elections.Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He has written more than 9,000 columns about the state and its politics and is the founding editor of the “California Political Almanac.” Dan has also been a frequent guest on national television news shows, commenting on California issues and policies.
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