Democratic voters in California nominated statewide candidates who are all from Northern California, Jerry Brown from Oakland, Gavin Newsom from San Francisco and Kamala Harris from San Francisco. And while each of these three candidates will win the Bay area cities and counties with ease, I have to wonder if voters, perhaps, may have made a mistake by not putting someone on the ticket from Southern California, where 65% of the state population resides.
Complicating matters for the ticket, the Republican primary voters nominated two a moderate and moderate liberal, for Lt. Governor and Attorney General, Hispanic State Senator Abel Maldonado, and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley.
Newsom won his race with relative ease, however, he performed poorly in Southern California:
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/...
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/...
And as you can see, Harris' win was unimpressive - in a crowded field, Harris won with only 33% of the vote, which means 67% of primary voters voted for someone else.
Newsom's matchup with Maldonado will be an interesting to watch unfold. And this is the race where gay marriage is going to explode. It will be interesting to see if Maldonado uses Prop 8 as a tool to lure Hispanic and AA voters away from Newsom, as these groups were instrumental in Prop 8's defeat.
Harris' candidacy worries me come November. For the last two decades, candidates who have won statewide office in Calfiornia have been pro-choice and pro-death penalty. Harris has been a long time opponent of the death penalty and is at serious risk of losing declined to state voters and swing voters throughout southern California and in some coastal communities dominated by Democratic candiates in past elections. And Harris has had numerous problems with the crime lab in San Francisco, and as a result, 100's of cases were thrown out.
And her Republican opponent, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, is a force to be reckoned with. Cooley has been elected to three consecutive terms as District Attorney in liberal Los Angeles. He is probably the only liberal Republican left in the entire state and he has the capability of winning statewide. Cooley will do quite well with Hispanic voters in the fall in Los Angeles, and with her very liberal views, Harris has the ability to easily lose this race, with Cooley having the ability to rack up large margins in southern California and the central valley.
Anyway, just some things to watch out for this fall in California.