Democrats blame the party, each other and themselves in CA-40 June primary shutout
The new California 40th Congressional District, straddling Orange and Riverside counties, was designed to be a stronghold for Republicans.
Last year’s redistricting process was an effort to shore up five additional House seats in California that would favor Democrats, so this district was created, in part, to siphon Republican voters away from other congressional districts.
But with the primary election dust starting to settle, and two incumbent Republicans projected to advance to the fall’s general election, Democratic candidates and voters in the 40th District are wondering: Who is at fault for Democrats’ shutout?
Is it simply the district’s votership, where the latest report shows nearly 40% of the 520,948 voters are registered Republicans, while 31% are Democrats and 21% are no party preference?
Or could the Democratic Party put more resources into the primary to elevate one of its candidates to the runoff?
The latter has been a resounding criticism from Esther Kim-Varet, a Democra…