It's the Great Fear that has been haunting California Democrats, and especially Politico, since they noticed the possibility last December that because of the Democrats splitting the votes among each other in the open gubernatorial primary in June. The two top candidates could end up being Republicans, thus locking Democrats out of the November general election.
The angst over this possibility has only increased dramatically since then, with the latest poll results sending poor Politico over the edge to the extent they have completely dropped even the bare pretense of objectivity as they MindMeld with the Democrats in deep deep concern as you see with senior politics reporter Jeremy B. White furiously rubbing the worry beads on Wednesday in "Democrats risk a historic upset in California."
White might have written his panic piece on April Fool's Day and the joke appears to be on the Democrats as illustrated by the subtitle: "How the party in America's bluest state could lock itself out of the governor’s race."
The nightmare scenario (for Democrats and You-Know-Who) was laid out by White:
In a typical election, Democrats would be cruising. But this is not a typical year.
After heavyweights like Sen. Alex Padilla and former Vice President Kamala Harris passed on the race to succeed Gavin Newsom, no Democrat has broken away from the scrum. Now, some polls show Republicans are in position to capture the top two spots — including a survey circulated by state party Chair Rusty Hicks, whose plea for lower-tier Democrats to drop out has been met with backlash and accusations of racism.
“It’s completely dysfunctional,” said a former legislative leader granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. “It’s the weirdest combination.”
The cause for the latest panic attack was most likely the most recent Evitarus poll, SPONSORED BY DEMOCRATS, that revealed these hilarious results as reported in the March 25 Palm Springs Desert Sun, "New California poll shows Hilton, Bianco leading as Democrats split."
The EVITARUS poll released Tuesday, March 24, shows conservative commentator Steve Hilton leading with 16% of likely voters, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco just behind with 14%.
Three Democratic candidates — Congressman Eric Swalwell, Congresswoman Katie Porter, and climate advocate Tom Steyer — trail behind, each capturing 10% of likely voters. The other five democratic candidates each hold 3% or less of likely voters.
Yes, absolutely the worst of all worlds as far as both Democrats and Politico are concerned. And yet with the three top Democrats tied at exactly 10 points each behind the Republicans the political agony is made even funnier.
White does his bit for damage control by hyping the candidacy of Mr. Fang Fang, aka Eric Swalwell, perhaps with the intent to help him break away from the rest of the Democrat pack and especially ahead of at least one of the Republican candidates now leading in the polls:
In recent weeks, much of the political establishment has backed Rep. Eric Swalwell, who has picked up endorsements from Sen. Adam Schiff and two of California’s most prominent labor groups. A pro-Swalwell super PAC has piled up millions of dollars from medical interests and Uber, and a well-funded anti-Steyer effort launched late last month.
Finally, Jeremy White entertains us with some amusing "Woe Is Us" shtick:
California Democrats say they’ll clean up this mess. But in a governor’s race that has all the makings of a debacle, they’re digging themselves deeper.
With a sprawling field threatening to split the vote and hand the governorship to a Republican, a late-hour effort failed to persuade longshot contenders to drop out. A preeminent labor group split its coveted endorsement four ways, elevating no one. And in the most recent upheaval, a televised debate was hastily canceled after an uproar from within the party that leaving out low-polling candidates of color would produce an all-white stage.
...“We know there’s this risk ahead — a 15 percent chance of calamity. It’s not a 15 percent chance of stubbing your toe, it’s a 15 percent chance of losing the governorship, losing the down-ballot races,” said Paul Mitchell, a leading Democratic data strategist in the state.
Losing the governorship would rank among the biggest upsets in modern political history. For Democrats, who have held a monopoly on statewide office for a generation and outnumber Republicans two to one, it wouldn’t just mean ceding California’s role as a national leader in progressive policymaking. The lack of a top-of-the-ticket standard bearer could also suppress turnout and cost the party House seats, squandering Democrats’ victory last year in a hard-fought gerrymandering campaign.
Exit Question: Will there be Californians in June who will vote for one of the GOP gubernatorial candidates just for the comedic entertainment value of watching a Conniption Fit For The Ages by the Democrats and Politico?
