Do we want to win elections—or do we want to be ideologically pure? Do we want all of our candidates to win or do we only want those we agree with to win? At this time those that make the decision as to who to give support to and who they starve to death is being based on ideology, not winnability.
“Next, we compare the incumbents with the challengers who won the right to proceed to the November elections. In CD22, David Valadao (R) finished over Rudy Salas (D) by only 888 votes. In the other 3 races, CD9 Josh Harder (D) finished with 24,234 more votes than Kevin Lincoln (R). CD25 Raul Ruiz (D) finished with 24,890 more votes than Ian Weeks (R), CD35 – Norma Torres (D) finished with only 6,969 more votes than Mike Cargile (R). That makes Cargile the best shot the Republican Party has at picking up a seat held by an incumbent Democrat.”
Forget the differences—do we want to win elections? If so, be objective, otherwise we will continue to lose elections.
The one candidate in the nation who was unendorsed TWICE by the GOP
is now California’s best shot at flipping a seat held by Democrats.
California Political News and Views, 4/29/24 www.capoliticalnewsandviews.com
Is California swinging to the right? Is a conservative message the way forward for the Republican Party? The fact that this district is largely Latino may be a contributing factor, but in any event, it looks like the 35th Congressional District is the epicenter of a political shakeup in California.
Back in 2022, the CAGOP actually UNENDORSED Mike Cargile for the SECOND TIME due to his Reagan-like traditional, conservative views.
However, in a world of uniparty politics, there are no R’s and no D’s. There are only Incumbents and Challengers. And in California, this concept is only solidified by the “Jungle Primary” where the top two vote getters advance to the November General Election, regardless of Party affiliation.
California has 52 Congressional seats. It’s a behemoth. Of those, 7 races had incumbents who decided not to seek re-election. These are basically coin tosses because the district has yet to weigh in on any particular candidate (although many of them seem to be leaning toward their Democratic candidates). That leaves 45 races with incumbents who have received the support of their districts in the past and now wield the power (money) of their offices. Of those 45, 41 of them finished with the incumbent receiving more than 50% of the votes in the Primary Election. That means, regardless of how many challengers there were in the race, the district voted their support for that one individual to retain their office.
That leaves 4 races where the incumbents FAILED to surpass the 50% needed to retain the seat. One of those races is a Republican (CD22, David Valadao – 32.7%). The other three are Democrats (CD9, Josh Harder – 49.7%), (CD25, Raul Ruiz – 45.1%), (CD35, Norma Torres – 48.2%). This means that the voters in those 4 districts are open to the idea of replacing their incumbent Representatives.
Next, we compare the incumbents with the challengers who won the right to proceed to the November elections. In CD22, David Valadao (R) finished over Rudy Salas (D) by only 888 votes. In the other 3 races, CD9 Josh Harder (D) finished with 24,234 more votes than Kevin Lincoln (R). CD25 Raul Ruiz (D) finished with 24,890 more votes than Ian Weeks (R), CD35 – Norma Torres (D) finished with only 6,969 more votes than Mike Cargile (R). That makes Cargile the best shot the Republican Party has at picking up a seat held by an incumbent Democrat.
