Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Californians were casting their ballots Tuesday in the first round of voting for a new governor, with a tight three-way race for two run-off spots, while Los Angeles was voting for a new mayor. The state’s so-called “jungle primary” pits all comers against each other. The top two vote-getters — regardless of party — advance to the November general election to replace term-limited Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. More than 60 names appear on ballot papers mailed out to all registered voters in the heavily Democratic state of 40 million people.
The latest polls show a three-way split at the top, with former president Joe Biden’s health secretary Xavier Becerra in the lead. Duking it out for second place are Democrat Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton, backed by US President Donald Trump. Steyer, a billionaire hedge fund manager, has spent more than $200 million of his own money on a campaign advocating for higher taxes on rich people and lower utility bills for California’s squeezed middle class. Voter Carly Boyajian was at an elementary school to cast her ballot early Tuesday and said she was backing Steyer. “Steyer’s done a really good job at being very charismatic and talking about the things that matter to me,” she told AFP.
Hilton, a former British political strategist and erstwhile Fox News commentator, has campaigned on blaming Democrats for the state’s deep-rooted housing, affordability, and homelessness problems. Trump suggested Tuesday that the federal government would only support California financially if voters pick Hilton. “The money will flow because I have confidence in him (but not any of the others!),” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Despite its huge economy — California would have the world’s fourth-largest if it were a country — and pockets of unbelievable wealth, America’s most populous state is disgruntled. While the tech bros of Silicon Valley enjoy fabulous homes, the soaring cost of houses — and an almost pathological aversion to building new ones — leaves millions struggling to pay the rent. Eye-watering utility bills and the nation’s priciest gas, coupled with high taxes and crumbling public services, add to a general sense of unfairness. There’s also the very visible, and seemingly intractable, problem of homelessness in the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The high stakes and the wall-to-wall television advertisements notwithstanding, the race has never really caught fire, and the public has seemed decidedly unenthusiastic — even if the vote could have national implications. Incumbent Newsom is believed to have his eyes on the White House in 2028, while Republicans would savor flipping the governor’s mansion in the Golden State.
In Los Angeles, voters were also voting Tuesday in the city’s mayoral primary. Incumbent Karen Bass, who is making her case for a second term, is sandwiched between a left-wing former ally on the city council and a pugnacious reality TV star coming in hard from the right. Bass, an ex-US congresswoman and Democratic Party stalwart, had an unremarkable start to her stint at the helm of America’s second-biggest city, and seemed headed for re-election. But her flat-footed handling of the huge fires that tore through the city in January 2025 left her in trouble. Her response to federal immigration raids in the proudly diverse city somewhat righted the ship, but she remains vulnerable, and the latest polling suggests she is neck-and-neck with council member Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialist.
Bringing up the insurgent rear is Spencer Pratt, a one-time reality TV villain whose house burned down in the devastating fires. Pratt has channeled widespread anger over the slow rebuild process, LA’s potholed roads, its drug-addled homeless, and a city hall seen as inefficient and in thrall to special interests. His message — like Hilton’s in the gubernatorial — is public safety and tough-on-crime, and is resonating, even with some traditional Democrats.
© 2024 AFP
