Free Republic

Following a fresh round of bellwether votes, the party still hasn't shown it can win the districts they need to take control of the House. WASHINGTON — The lesson of Tuesday night's primaries for Democrats: They still have a lot of work to do if they want to win control of the House in November. They managed to avert the total disaster of getting "locked out" of general election contests in California, where candidates of all parties compete against one another in primaries and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election. But they didn't look particularly impressive in...

Judging from Tuesday’s primary results, the “blue wave” in California means Democrats waving at their polling places as they drove by. Final numbers on voter participation won’t be in for a while, but turnout seems unexceptional. With more than 97% of the precincts reporting, less than 21% of registered voters had cast ballots. That’s in line with the anemic turnout in the 2014 primary, and far, far below the five previous midterm election primaries. Who said this year was special? Oh right — Democrats did. The line from the national media echoed this making-lemonade-out-of-lemons paragraph by The Times’ Christine Mai-Duc:...

12:20 a.m. Wednesday California Democrats have been denied their supermajority in the state Senate. Voters in an Orange County district on Tuesday elected former Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang in a recall election against a Democrat. Voters removed Democratic Sen. Josh Newman from office over his vote to raise gas taxes last year. That means Senate Democrats won't hold the two-thirds majority needed to pass tax and fee increases. Newman narrowly won the traditionally Republican district in the 2016 election, and both parties saw him as vulnerable. A Republican-backed effort to repeal the tax increase is likely to be on...

Voters on Tuesday head to the polls for California's pivotal primary, which could help determine whether Democrats will gain control of the House in the November midterms. The Golden State is home to 10 of the most competitive House races in the nation, virtually all currently held by Republicans. The state is a key to the Democratic Party’s plan to net the 23 seats it needs to flip the House majority in November. But uncertainty abounds thanks to the state's "jungle primary" system, where the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. The unusual dynamic...

President Donald Trump has endorsed John Cox for CA Governor. Lots of other races up for grabs. Pray for California.

Results and Observations, please.

Everywhere is a bellwether in American politics these days. And every race allegedly tells you much of what might happen in the midterm elections on Nov. 6.In California, that just may be true in today’s primaries.The Republican Party remains a sad-sack affair statewide in the country’s most populous state.But it does currently hold potentially the critical balance that could keep the House for the GOP or swing it to the Nancy Pelosi crowd. She only needs 23 more House seats to regain the Speaker’s gavel from retiring Paul Ryan.In California, the GOP presently holds seven seats in House districts...

Eight years after California voters bucked party leaders to establish a “jungle” primary system, Democrats and Republicans alike have serious misgivings about the system as voters head to the polls on Tuesday for a critical day of voting. Republicans accuse the open primary system, in which the candidates finishing one and two in voting will advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation, of seriously damaging their already wounded party in the Golden State. “It’s not doing what it was laid out to do. It’s making campaigns more expensive, it’s making it harder for people to run,” House Majority...

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday, his first Senate endorsement of the 2018 cycle. By backing Feinstein, Obama is stepping into what could be a contentious battle between the incumbent Democrat and California Democratic state Senate president Kevin de León, a liberal upstart who is looking to unseat the longtime senator. "She's always been an indispensable leader for California, and we became dear friends and partners in the fight to guarantee affordable healthcare and economic opportunity for everybody; to protect our planet from climate change, and our kids from gun violence," Obama said in a statement....

Even if Republican frontrunner Donald Trump wins the Indiana primary decisively on Tuesday, he will still likely need to win the June 7 California primary to reach the 1,237-delegate majority necessary to win the Republican presidential nomination outright.

In the last 24 hours violent leftist mobs and Open Border thugs smashed police cars, bloodied Trump supporters, mugged Trump supporters, harassed Trump supporters, spit on Trump supporters, and stormed the GOP California Convention. National Review Washington Editor Eliana Johnson blamed the Trump supporters for this mob violence. Eliana Johnson: Well, one really important thing, Neil, is not to confuse where the bad behavior is coming from. Mr. Trump and his campaign have behaved badly in encouraging and fomenting violence inside their rallies. And, these protesters are behaving badly fomenting and encouraging bad behavior outside the rallies. The fact that...

Latino activists said they expect more large protests as Donald Trump moves his presidential campaign into California. Trump faced large and hostile demonstrations outside a rally Thursday night in Costa Mesa and at the Burlingame hotel where he delivered a speech to the California Republican Convention on Friday. “I think it’s going to get worse if he gets the nomination and is the front-runner. I think it’s going to escalate,” said Luis Serrano, an organizer with California Immigration Youth Justice Alliance. “We’re going to keep showing up and standing against the actions and the hate Donald Trump is creating. We...

At one point before Trump arrived, about two dozen protesters tried to rush barriers near the hotel. Police officers then rushed to the building's doors, successfully blocking the protesters from getting in. Some of the doors' handles were handcuffed from the inside so they couldn't be forced open. HUNDREDS OF PAID FOR DEMONSTRATORS DESCENDED ON THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN CONVENTION FRIDAY TO PROTEST DONALD TRUMP AHEAD OF HIS SPEECH, COURTESY OF GEORGE SOROS AND COMPANY. As Donald Trump hold rallies in California, ‘spontaneous protests‘ are cropping up to greet him. Only thing is, the protesters are collecting a paycheck for their...

<p>As we saw in Colorado — and North Dakota, and Louisiana, and elsewhere — Team Cruz is much, much better than Team Trump at understanding and taking advantage of each state’s distinctive primary or caucus rules to maximize its delegate tally.</p>

With the presidential race heating up in California, Republican Donald Trump on Tuesday named veteran GOP strategist Tim Clark as his state director. Clark has more than two decades of experience running statewide and district campaigns, and will take a leave of absence as chief of staff to conservative state Sen. John Moorlach of Costa Mesa. Before coming to the Capitol, Clark guided Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin’s 2014 bid for state controller. “I am pleased to bring Tim on board to organize what is a very important state,” Trump said in a prepared statement announcing the hire. “I know he...

While Ted Cruz and John Kasich are gearing up their California campaigns, there is little indication that Donald Trump has given the state much thought – despite the June 7 primary’s potential to make or break his nomination. The billionaire front-runner canceled a rally planned for Friday for his golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes, instead spending the time campaigning in New York for its April 19 primary. Cruz was in Orange County for a March 31 fundraiser and will be back Monday for an 11:30 a.m. rally at the Hotel Irvine. Both Cruz and Kasich have been booked to...

REGIONAL BREAKDOWNS: SoCal is head over heels for Trump (Trump 49 percent; Cruz 34, Kasich 13) , Central Valley leans Trump (Trump 39, Cruz 26, Kasich 18), and Inland Empire for Cruz (Cruz, 43, Trump 30, Kasich, 9). Silicon Valley and the Bay Area? Kasich trounces Trump 43-36, with Cruz at 14.

Donald Trump's convention manager, Republican strategist Paul Manafort, described his new role in the campaign Friday, saying it shows the billionaire's signature leadership style. "This is an example of Donald Trump managing, and the type of leadership he will bring to the presidency in November," Manafort said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo. "He also understood that winning isn't enough, that it's about how you win and how much you win." Manafort told CNN, "I work directly for the boss," a notable departure from the usual workflow at Trump's 2016 operation, where most campaign staff answer to campaign...