{"id":1270,"date":"2026-06-05T08:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1270"},"modified":"2026-06-05T08:37:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:37:01","slug":"party-divisions-persist-past-primary-on-both-sides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1270","title":{"rendered":"Party divisions persist past primary \u2014 on both sides"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The California primary is (mostly) over.\u00a0Even though California will keep counting ballots for a month, some dynamics are already clear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Legislature\u2019s data-center ban is economic suicide for New York<\/a><\/p>\n

But some things aren\u2019t over, even when the results are in. Here are four things that will persist.<\/p>\n

1. California Democrats are divided<\/strong><\/p>\n

Democrats in California are not a happy political bunch these days.\u00a0To the contrary, they are divided and growing disenchanted.<\/p>\n

Recall that the last four elections for governor were a foregone conclusion among Democrats.<\/p>\n

In both 2018 and 2022, Gavin Newsom breezed to victory in the June primary and November election.\u00a0He faced no serious challenger among the Democrats.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prior to that, in 2010 and 2014, Democrat Jerry Brown also was the overwhelming choice of Democrats, including winning over 84% of Democrat\u00a0voters in the 2010 Democrat-only primary.<\/p>\n

Thus, it has been 20 years since the Democrats had a true contest as to who they want for governor.\u00a0This cycle, it was a revolving door of candidates who once claimed the lead, including Katie Porter and Eric Swalwell \u2013\u2013 both of whose careers are likely over.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s results demonstrated that no single candidate was ever the front-runner, let alone a forgone conclusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. California voters aren\u2019t happy with the new, more radical Democrats<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Democrats are not as popular as they once were in California.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to pollster John McLaughlin,\u00a0a \u201cmajority of voters, 56%, said California is on the wrong track.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0That cannot be surprising, given the mounting problems of crime, homelessness, affordability, insurance rates, and on and on.<\/p>\n

The Democrats\u2019 leading politicians are not favored either.<\/p>\n

Gavin Newsom, who is more intent on fighting President Donald Trump than on fixing crime or homelessness in California, finds his approval ratings underwater.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indeed, per McLaughlin, \u201c49% of all voters approve of the job Gavin Newsom is doing, while 50% disapprove of the job he\u2019s done, including 22% among Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Likewise, nearly two-thirds of all voters disapproved of Karen Bass, the mayor of the second largest city in the US, in the week before the primary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given the weak primary results for Bacerra and Steyer the primary demonstrates that Democrats are without a popular leader.<\/p>\n

Read more Why do so many Hollywood celebs have trans or non-binary kids?<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0California\u2019s & LA\u2019s failures will be a national story all the way to the midterms\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over a year ago, I wrote that the\u00a0mayors of Los Angeles, New York and Chicago would define the Democrat Party in 2026.\u00a0So far, New York\u2019s far-left Zohran Mamdani and LA\u2019s far-left Bass have been front and center in politics \u2013\u2013 for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n

Bass could only muster one-third of the primary vote in LA.\u00a0At this point, she is only outpacing the newcomer Spencer Pratt by 4 percentage points.<\/p>\n

Bass also didn\u2019t come close to 50%.\u00a0That means there will be a runoff.\u00a0It also means the problems of LA will remain front and center in American politics all the way to November.<\/p>\n

The battle for governor between Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra (if that vote holds up) also means that California\u2019s problems will remain on the front page of national news.<\/p>\n

The political fight over poor results will continue to result in poor ratings for the Democrat Party and should undermine Democrats\u2019 efforts to take the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

4. California Republicans are still fighting amongst themselves<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once again, the California Republicans engaged in an ugly battle to determine their choice for governor.<\/p>\n

The candidates, Hilton and Bianco, could not resist taking shots at each other.\u00a0\u00a0As the primary approached, despite no chance for Bianco to place in the top two, he resisted overtures to step aside to ensure Hilton would make it through.<\/p>\n

Fights among Bianco and Hilton supporters were often bitter. And the state party struggled to build consensus on whom to support, resulting in no party endorsement.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Republicans must find a way to work together to get Voter ID passed in November, to defeat the billionaire tax, and to support Steve Hilton\u2019s bid for an upset.<\/p>\n

Still, there is hope. If either or both Pratt and Hilton win this fall, and make just a few common-sense reforms, combined with a \u201cyes\u201d vote on Voter ID, California may well turn the corner.<\/p>\n

Thomas Del Beccaro is the chairman of Californians for Election Fairness.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Read more Graham Platner told bizarre fantasies about raping home invaders \u2018not in a gay way,\u2019 ex-girlfriend claims<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The California primary is (mostly) over.\u00a0Even though California will keep counting ballots for a month, some dynamics are already clear.\u00a0But some things aren’t over, even when the results are in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nParty divisions persist past primary \u2014 on both sides - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1270\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Party divisions persist past primary \u2014 on both sides - 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