DEMS PANIC - Massive Update as Voting Underway in California Governor Race
There’s been some major movement less than one month before the primary elections in California, and it has Democrats worried.
The California Secretary of State’s office has released the official report on the number of ballots returned so far in the June primary.
Supreme Court delivers major midterm election decision
The data shows that Republicans are surging so far, stoking fear among Democrats ahead of the June 2 primaries in the deep blue state.
The report shows the Republican share of “early” voters in California has spiked and is running more than 9 percent above voter registration.
Supreme Court blockbuster ruling months before midterms
The report also shows that Democratic turnout is way down. Below is a breakdown of the numbers:
–Democrat Share of Early Ballot Returns
41% (down 7% from 2022)
–Republican Share of Early Ballot Returns
34% (up 8% from 2022)
–Independent Share of Early Ballot Returns
25% (up 2% from 2022)
Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a San Diego Republican, cautioned against over-interpreting the numbers but said the trend is encouraging for conservatives.
“When you take a look at the numbers, both in comparison to the numbers four years ago and voter registration, Democrats are way down and Republicans are up in early voting,” DeMaio told The Post.
“It may mean that many Democrats are taking longer to decide on the governor’s race and who ultimately they want to lead,” DeMaio added.
Paul Mitchell with Political Data Inc. noted that it’s still early in the election period.
“The early days part is important because some of what we’re seeing is which counties are quicker at returning the data to us,” Mitchell said.
While that is true, older, conservative voters and landlords who are Republicans have voted more than any other party.
4.3% of people aged 65 and up went to the polls. People aged 50 to 64 made up 2%, people aged 35 to 49 made up 1.1%, and people aged 18 to 34 made up 0.7%.
“It’s kind of typical of a low-turnout election that these are the people that always vote in every election. They probably almost always vote early, and they’re getting their ballots in right away,” Mitchell said.
The tracker shows that 2.6% of votes were white, making them the most common racial group. 2.3% were Asian, 1.6% were Black, and 1.2% were Latino.
Mitchell said that the patterns seen in early voting don’t always hold up at the end of the voting process.
“We see these patterns where some voters still want to vote at the polls,” he said, noting older Latinos in particular.
Mitchell said that in the past, older voters were some of the first to use mail-in ballots, and a lot of those early users were Republicans.
“We did see some stuff in 2020 when Republicans and the Trump administration said ‘Don’t vote by mail,’ where that started to drop off. But it seems like it might be returning,” he said.
Mitchell also said that the primary races for governor are usually the ones with the fewest voters. He said that most people turn in their ballots at the end of the election term.
For people in rural areas who want to make sure their ballots are stamped in time to be counted, the Postal Service tells them to vote at least a week before they mail them back.
People are paying close attention to the race for governor.
For the Democrats, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, progressive billionaire Tom Steyer, and former Orange County congresswoman Katie Porter are at the top of the field. In recent weeks, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have been more negative.
Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, seems to have a strong lead over Chad Bianco for sheriff of Riverside County on the Republican side.
Most polls show that Becerra and Hilton are the most likely candidates to make it out of the state’s “jungle” primary system.
This system doesn’t care about party membership and has made people on both sides of the political spectrum nervous about not making it to the November runoff.
Hakeem Jeffries Panics - He Just Lost A WAVE of House Seats Intensifies
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a sharp public rebuke against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis following the governor's announcement of a special legislative session to redraw Florida’s congressional district boundaries, a strategic move expected to yield four additional seats for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives.
Governor DeSantis defended the mid-decade redistricting initiative by asserting that Florida was shortchanged in the 2020 Census relative to its explosive population growth over recent years. DeSantis emphasized that registered Republicans now hold a 1.5 million voter advantage across the Sunshine State, arguing that the existing district boundaries rely on unconstitutional racial classifications rather than geographic and demographic reality.
"The new map will more fairly reflect Florida’s current population makeup and fulfill our commitment to mid-decade adjustments."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated during his official announcement of the special session.
Representative Jeffries quickly pushed back against the plan, characterizing the proposed congressional map as a partisan overreach that could ultimately backfire on state Republicans during upcoming election cycles.
"It is a 'DeSantis Dummymander'. Florida Republicans pursuing this redistricting will end up in the exact same situation as Texas Republicans, whom I describe as being on the run. They are dummymandering their way into the minority before a single vote is cast."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared in response to the governor's redistricting strategy.
In a swift counter-response, Governor DeSantis dismissed the minority leader's warnings, inviting the New York Democrat to travel to Florida to campaign personally against the proposed boundary adjustments.
"I invite Leader Jeffries to campaign in Florida. I would be happy to host him at the governor’s mansion and take him fishing. Having Jeffries campaign across the state will only benefit Republicans because Florida voters will soundly reject the ideology being presented."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated during a subsequent media press conference.
The redistricting battle in Florida unfolds amidst a broader national struggle for control of the House of Representatives, where state-level map adjustments across the country could determine the congressional majority. The Supreme Court of the United States recently lifted a lower court injunction that had temporarily blocked a new congressional map in Texas, a decision that could potentially add five Republican seats to the lower chamber.
Conversely, California’s pending redistricting plans are projected to yield five additional seats for Democrats, while Virginia’s congressional map remains subject to ongoing legal challenges before the state Supreme Court over constitutional boundary concerns. As both major political parties adjust their national strategies, mid-decade redistricting initiatives in key states continue to reshape the legislative landscape ahead of the upcoming congressional elections.
