That sound you hear could be the result of worry beads rubbing furiously against each other. It is an open question as to whether those worry beads are being rubbed by California Democrats or by Politico writer Melanie Mason or by both.
The source of the angst is that there are just too many Democrats running for Governor of the Golden State, with eight so far that have thrown their hats into the ring. And why should this be a cause for worry? Because since California has an open nonpartisan primary next June, such a crowded Democrat field threatens to divide that party's vote so much that the two major Republican candidates could end up in first and second place which would qualify them (and none of the others) to run against each other in the November general election meaning that no matter who wins, it will be a Republican.
Mason laid out that nightmare scenario on Monday in "California Dems confront a star-power vacuum — and a big math problem." The subtitle also reflects the Democrat (as well as Politico) panic attack over this scenario, "The prospect of a humiliating pile-up."
California Democrats have a math problem: They’ve added so many candidates in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom that two Republicans could end up winning the state’s quirky “jungle primary,” shutting the Democrats out.
A Democratic wipeout is still unlikely. But the prospect of a humiliating pile-up, with no clear powerbroker to act as traffic cop, has put the state’s political class increasingly on edge with each new entrant into the field.
And the fact that no one has emerged as a standout who can prevent the vote from splintering is forcing Democrats here to grapple with truth about the rising generation of the state’s ruling party: California Democrats, whose ranks swelled with heavyweights like Newsom, Jerry Brown and Nancy Pelosi, are suddenly missing their star power.
A lot of empathy notes sounded there by Mason as if she feels the Democrats' pain. And to make it worse, there appears to be no really outstanding Democrats running for governor as former major Democrat pol Willie Brown explained by deriding the current field as low quality. “The field is not considered of a quality that you as a Democrat would expect in California,” he said.
More detail on the nightmare scenario facing the Democrats in next year's primary:
In recent weeks, columnists at both the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times have explored the possibility of the glut of candidates splitting Democratic votes, positioning two Republicans the chance to lead the country’s largest blue state. Such a premise would have been unthinkable at the beginning of this year, when the assumption was that former Vice President Kamala Harris would run, clearing the Democratic field. But her decision to pass on the race, followed by Sen. Alex Padilla opting out as well, virtually closed the door on the chance of one Democrat dominating the field.
Without a galvanizing favorite, the race remains as fluid as ever with four months to go before the filing deadline. In the last month, two new contenders — Rep. Eric Swalwell and billionaire investor Tom Steyer — have joined the fray. And there may be more coming: Attorney General Rob Bonta is strongly considering a gubernatorial run, after passing on the race earlier this year, Rick Caruso, the Los Angeles developer, is still mulling a bid, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has kept the door open for an eleventh-hour entrance.
Finally the Great Fear:
But if one or two Democratic candidates are unable to break out of the pack, two major Republican candidates — Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton, a businessperson and television personality — could advance to the November general election.
Yes a great deal of empathy over the Democrat dilemma going into the primary next year. However, would there have been so much empathy on the part of Politico had the situation been reversed with a plethora of Republican gubernatorial candidates splitting the votes among each other thus opening the possibility of two major Democrat candidates facing each other in the general election? Anyone familiar with Politico could be forgiven if they suspect that the current mood of empathy would be replaced by gloating over the sad fate of the Republicans in such an election scenario.
