California Primaries: Everything You Need To Know

LOS ANGELES, CA — Maybe you’ve spent the last year and a half counting down the days until America can flip the House of Representatives and initiate impeachment proceedings. Maybe you wear your MAGA hat like its a uniform, and you’re eager to preserve Republican dominance on the national stage. Either way, it’s time to act. All that political angst building up in women’s marches and gun protests and Trump rallies has led up to this point: the midterm elections.

The June 5 primary election looms as do your registration and voting deadlines. It’s a big political year in California, which is poised to choose a new governor, a U.S. senator and 53 house representatives. California has perhaps more retiring or vulnerable incumbents than any other state, ensuring the Golden State will have a singular impact on the fate of the nation.

The Governor’s Race

There are 20 people vying for a chance to lead the nation’s most populous state. Included among their ranks is a puppeteer, a transhumanist lecturer and a virtual reality manager. However, at this point in the polls, it’s largely a race between two Democratic former mayors — Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco liberal, and Antonio Villaraigosa, the Los Angeles moderate. According to a recent Survey USA poll, Newsom leads the pack with 22 percent of the vote followed by Villaraigosa with 14 percent. The top five is rounded out by Republican John Cox at 11 percent, Democrat John Chiang at 9 percent, and Republican Travis Allen at 7 percent. Thanks to California’s open primary system, it’s likely that voters will be choosing between two Democrats come the Nov. 6 election.

Related: Hollywood Plays Favorites In Governor's Race

The U.S Senate Race

Incumbent Dianne Feinstein has a race on her hands this year thanks to liberal rival State Sen. Kevin de León. There are 22 people vying for the seat Feinstein has held for 26 years. De León, the liberal Los Angeles senate leader and son of an immigrant San Diego housekeeper, has accused Feinstein of being too moderate, centrist and out of touch with her party. But Feinstein is one of the state’s most influential politicians, and she recently scored an endorsement from Former Vice President Joe Biden. Despite grumbling from the progressive wing of the party eager for change, Feinstein’s reputation for getting things done is helping to keep her on top in the polls, the Los Angeles Times reports.

A survey by the Public Policy Institute of California put Feinstein way ahead of de León with a 42 percent lead to his 16 percent, although 39 percent of respondents said they were undecided.

"Whoever thought that the youngest child of a single immigrant mother with a third-grade education would become the leader of the Senate?" de León told the Times. "The odds have always been against me. It's the story of my life."

House Of Representatives

Hundreds of candidates are running for 53 congressional seats in California. And if the so-called Democratic wave washes over Congress, this is where it will happen. To flip the House, Democrats must pick up 24 seats. They think the path to that majority goes through Southern California where Rep. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa chose to retire after their once reliably conservative districts went for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Energized Democrats are running competitive races in districts that seemed out of reach only four years ago.

But it won’t be a slam dunk. A Republican rebellion is afoot against the state’s relentless pushback against the Trump agenda. Republicans in the Central Valley, the Inland Empire and Orange County have found something to rally around in the opposition to the state’s so-called sanctuary law limiting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Key Dates

There are several statewide races on the June 5 ballot including governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, controller, attorney general, insurance commissioner, and superintendent of public instruction. Additionally, voters will be choosing the top two contenders in congressional and state legislative district primaries across the state.

Your deadline to register to vote is May 21. You can register to vote here.

Your vote by mail request must be postmarked by May 29. You can apply here to vote by mail.

Primary Election Day is June 5. You can find your polling place through your county's elections website.

Midterm Election Day is Nov. 6.

Photo: California Democratic gubernatroial candidate and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa speaks in conversation as part of the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) 2017 Speaker Series on California's Future on June 6, 2017 in San Francisco, California. Villaraigosa spoke with PPIC president Mark Baldassare about his vision for California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)