California’s Red Wave – By Alexander Sammon (Slate) / March 6, 2024
Super Tuesday showed Democrats a blaring siren for November.
There weren’t that many questions at the top of the ticket headed into Super Tuesday. The presidential race is set: Donald Trump was only slightly more challenged by Nikki Haley, who has since dropped out, than Joe Biden was by “uncommitted” protest voters objecting to his Israel policy. Their rematch is now formally—as it has been practically for a long time—certain.
But in California, the country’s largest state by population and bluest state by reputation, there was plenty of intrigue: a super high-dollar U.S. Senate race; primaries in numerous, swingy congressional races in both directions that could decide control of the House; a handful of notable ballot measures. The result: a profound Republican turnout boom and rightward shift, a mini red wave that has some Democrats nervous for November and pointing the finger at the state’s newest (unofficial) senator-elect.
The top California race Tuesday night was the primary to replace the deceased Sen. Dianne Feinstein, both to finish out her term through January and to succeed her fully after that. In that race, things went exactly according to plan for Rep. Adam Schiff, the longtime moderate and deepest-pocketed Democrat. Schiff, armed with $35 million of his own, plus millions in outside spending support from conservative groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, spent himself and Republican Steve Garvey, who didn’t have a real campaign and never aired a TV ad of his own, to the finish line.
