Holding hopes of a “blue wave” in November, US Democrats on Tuesday fought to shape the political battlefield in primaries across eight states, none more important than California, where US Republicans avoided an embarrassing setback in the race for governor.
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newson, a Democrat, easily advanced to the general election, with business executive John Cox coming in second.
Cox’s strong finish put to rest fears that no Republican would qualify for the deeply Democratic state’s top office this fall and the party’s other candidates would suffer from a resulting lack of voter interest on election day.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The governor’s race was one of many drawing attention to California, a state not accustomed to being a national political battleground.
However, its handful of competitive races have made it hotly contested territory in the fight over control of the US House of Representatives, drawing big money and the spotlight on the biggest primary night of the midterms.
Democratic incumbents, such as US Senator Dianne Feinstein, fared well, fending off challenges from the left.
Neither party immediately appeared to suffer major setbacks, yet the winners and losers in California’s most competitive races could take days to sort out given the state’s unique election laws.
Due to California’s unusual primary system, all candidates appear on a single primary ballot, with the top two vote-getters advancing regardless of party. That allows the possibility of two candidates qualifying from the same party — and neither from the other.
No state offers Democrats more opportunities to gain House seats this fall than California, where more than a half-dozen Republican-held seats might be in play.
Democrats need to add 23 seats nationwide to retake the House.
Feinstein won her party’s nomination for another term, as widely expected.
It was still unclear whether a Republican would earn enough votes to oppose her on California’s November ballot.
Much of the day’s drama focused on women, who fought to make history in some cases and to avoid disaster in others.
In Alabama, four-term Republican Representative Martha Roby was forced into a runoff election next month after failing to win 50 percent of her party’s vote.
She is to face Democratic former representative Bobby Bright in Alabama’s conservative second district, where Trump loyalty has been a central issue.
Roby was the first member of US Congress to withdraw her endorsement of the Republican president in 2016 after he was caught on video bragging about grabbing women’s genitals.
In New Mexico, Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham won the Democratic Party’s nomination in the race to succeed outgoing New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, a Republican.
If Grisham wins, she would be the state’s second Latino state executive.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey fended off three Republican challengers, while Representative Kristi Noem became the first female nominee for governor of South Dakota.
In New Mexico, former state Democratic Party chairwoman Debra Haaland, a tribal member of Laguna Pueblo, won her primary and could become the first Native American woman in Congress if she wins this fall.
“Donald Trump and the billionaire class should consider this victory a warning shot: The blue wave is coming,” Haaland said in a statement.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)