Top Ten Winners & Losers In California's June Election!
Every week I'm closely following politics here in the Golden State. This is a weekly feature but is focused just on election results.
Below is our List of Top Ten Winners and Losers for the Week. This feature is available to all of our subscribers, free and paid. At the bottom of this post is our “Worst Week In California Politics” special feature. It's me, in rare form, on video, going on about why someone’s week sucked. It is below the paywall for our paid subscribers, though. Please support my independent calling of balls and strikes, and unlock lots of content by upgrading today! It’s only $7 a month (or $70 for an entire year).
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⏱️ 5-minute read
Top Winners & Losers Last Week in the June election!
Two important caveats. Election results aren’t final, and I have “called” the race for Hilton, even though the media is lagging behind. And of course I could have dozens of winners and losers, so this is a winnowed list!
⬆️WINNERS: STATEWIDE CANDIDATES ADVANCING TO THE TOP TWO
California’s June 2 primary narrowed the field for the state’s highest offices and set the stage for November. The statewide matchups are: Governor: Xavier Becerra (D), Steve Hilton* (R); Lieutenant Governor: Fiona Ma (D), Gloria Romero (R); Attorney General: Rob Bonta (D), Michael Gates (R); Secretary of State: Shirley Weber (D), Don Wagner (R); Treasurer: Eleni Kounalakis (D), Jennifer Hawks (R); Controller: Malia Cohen (D), Herb Morgan (R); Insurance Commissioner: Jane Kim (D), Ben Allen (D); Superintendent of Public Instruction: Sonja Shaw (R), Richard Barrera (D). While ballots are still being counted, these candidates have secured spots in November’s general election and now begin the final phase of their statewide campaigns.
* I have called this race, even though AP, which the MSM relies upon, has not yet done so.
⬇️ LOSERS: MATT MAHAN AND TOM STEYER — TERRIBLE RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Few candidates spent more money for less political return than Tom Steyer and Matt Mahan. Steyer poured more than $200 million of his personal fortune into his gubernatorial campaign, only to come agonizingly close to advancing to November before falling short. For Mahan, the outcome was even more devastating. Despite raising and benefiting from tens of millions of dollars in support from Silicon Valley donors and independent expenditure committees, he failed to gain traction with voters and finished with less than four percent of the vote. California voters delivered a costly reminder that money can buy advertising, but it cannot buy electoral success.
⬇️ LOSERS - THOSE WHO VOTED FOR ERIC SWALWELL
No one imploded with the force of a supernova in politics in a bigger way than disgraced ex-candidate and ex-Congressman Eric Swalwell. Nevertheless, about 25,000 or so low-information voters appear to have voted for him. I suppose a few of these people could think Swalwell was set up, or that what he did was cool. Anyways, all of these people are losers. Maybe there would be fewer of them if we weren’t making it so damned easy to vote. I bet Swalwell voters wouldn’t take the time to go to the polls in person.
⬇️ LOSER: PROP. 14 — THE “TOP TWO” SYSTEM
Prop. 14 was sold to California voters in 2010 as a reform that would produce more moderate officeholders and more meaningful choices. Instead, the “top two” system has made campaigns more expensive, encouraged cynical gamesmanship, and failed to deliver moderation. California politics has only grown more polarized. Worse, the system pushes voters away from simply choosing their preferred candidate and toward calculating whether one party will be shut out of November. And in the general election, when most Californians vote, the result is often less choice, not more — including same-party runoffs like this year’s Insurance Commissioner race and the exclusion of minor-party candidates. Elections should not be about gaming the rules. Prop. 14 has failed.
⬆️WINNER: LA COUNCILMEMBER AND MAYORAL CANDIDATE NITHYA RAMAN
Late ballots in overwhelmingly Democratic Los Angeles broke heavily for Raman, likely propelling her into a runoff against embattled incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. Were those voters for Raman, against Bass, or simply determined to keep Republican Spencer Pratt out of the runoff? Probably some mix of all three — but the math is the math. If Raman can raise the funds to run a competitive general election campaign, Bass has a serious problem on her hands. Last night was a very good night for Nithya Raman.
⬇️ LOSER: STATE SENATOR MARIE ALVARADO-GIL
State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil’s unusual political journey appears headed for a hard stop. In 2022, she was elected as a Democrat in a very red Senate district after five Republicans split the GOP vote, allowing two Democrats to advance to the November election. After taking office, she re-registered as a Republican and tried to persuade GOP voters that she belonged in their column. It did not work. Alexandra Duarte, a lifelong Republican, raised serious money and appears to have knocked Alvarado-Gil out of the top two. For an incumbent who changed parties to match her district, it appears most Republicans did not buy the sincerity of her conversion.
⬇️ LOSER: LOS ANGELES MAYOR KAREN BASS
When you are the incumbent Mayor and close to two-thirds of Angelenos say they want someone else, you are definitely a loser. Largely due to the insurgent candidacy of Spencer Pratt, Bass has been forced to run on her record, which is frankly pretty terrible. She would certainly have preferred Republican Pratt as her runoff opponent in this overwhelmingly Democratic city. Instead, she appears to have drawn hard-left Councilwoman Nithya Raman, setting up a nasty intra-party fight. Speaking of Pratt, it’s hard to call him a loser even though his candidacy appears over. But what a candidacy — exceeding all expectations!
⬆️WINNER: REPUBLICAN STATE SENATE CANDIDATE KRISTIE BRUCE-LANE
Kristie Bruce-Lane appears to have won a bruising Republican showdown in Senate District 40, the seat being vacated by term-limited Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones. Jones’ preferred successor was San Marcos Councilman Ed Musgrove, but Republican voters tilted toward Bruce-Lane, who had strong support from Assemblyman Carl DeMaio and Reform California. Bruce-Lane now appears headed to November against Democrat Mara Elliott in a district Republicans cannot take for granted but can certainly win. A Bruce-Lane victory this fall would send a hard-charging conservative to Sacramento — exactly the kind of Republican willing to take the fight directly to the Democratic supermajority.
⬇️ LOSER: CALIFORNIA’S LAX ELECTION PROCESS
California Democrats have become so obsessed with removing every conceivable barrier to voting that they’ve gone too far — stripping away the integrity and finality that a trustworthy election system demands. There is nothing wrong with voting requiring some effort. Voters should have to show up, cast a ballot in person, and get a result on election night. Instead, we get weeks of post-election counting that erodes public confidence with every passing day. Effort breeds investment. Accountability requires finality. California’s anything-goes election process delivers neither. Yes, you can make it too easy to vote - that’s a thing.
⬆️WINNERS: TAXPAYERS
It was a good night to be a California taxpayer. All around the state, voters are rejecting local tax measures — shooting down a hotel tax hike in LA City, a steep tax on second and corporate-owned homes in San Diego County, a business tax pegged to executive pay ratios in San Francisco, a parcel tax for general city services in Oakland, and a sales tax increase in Contra Costa County. Of course, some local tax measures are passing, but these high-profile losses foreshadow a tough road for tax measures on the November ballot. As for the LA County health care sales tax — it may yet limp across the finish line on late ballots, but if it does, it will have barely survived despite a massive funding advantage over the No side. Not exactly a mandate.
THE WORST WEEK IN CALIFORNIA POLITICS “AWARD” GOES TO…
Below is my weekly pithy video about the person in California politics who has had the worst week! You do NOT want to miss this rant — six minutes of pure Jon. Upgrade today!
Actually, this week there are two “bronze” level losers, a “silver” level loser, and then one “gold” level biggest loser of the week!
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Who had the worst week in California politics last week?
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