California has long been neglected in nominating the Democratic candidate for the presidential election. The primaries were held there late in the season. Most Voters’ mind was made well before seeing the candidates gyrating, usually for fundraisers in Hollywood or Silicon Valley.
In 2016, the primary took place on June 7. It had been won by Hillary Clinton ahead of Bernie Sanders (53% -46%) in almost indifference, the ex-First Lady being assured of qualifying thanks to the support of the super-delegates. For the 2020 election, the Democrats in California wanted to weigh in on the selection process. In September 2017, the State Assembly adopted a text advancing the ballot by three months: the “primary time primary law.”
On March 3, it will be challenging to ignore California, although the results will probably fall well after the prime-time programs. The Golden State is the giant of Super Tuesday; 415 delegates must be designated, which is more than 30% of the total at stake that day (1,357). Experts expect the participation of some 10 million voters (8.5 million in 2016). According to the California secretary of state, Alex Padilla, responsible for the organization of the poll, 40% of them have already returned their ballot taking advantage of the advance voting procedure.
Bernie Sanders in conquered territory
Bernie Sanders is in conquered territory. In such a progressive state (Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 4.2 million votes), the Vermont senator has an undeniable aura. In 2016, 79,000 people even voted for him in the presidential election, registering his name in the “independent” category, although he abandoned his candidacy. The latest Public Policy Institute of California poll attributed 32% of the vote. He is followed by former vice-president Joe Biden (14%), Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren (13%), and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg (12%).
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The message of the “socialist” candidate particularly resonates in a state where some of the world’s greatest fortunes rub shoulders with a population strangled by the housing crisis, to the point that cities have started to open parking lots so that “working poor’s,” poor workers can sleep in their cars.
In San José, in the heart of Silicon Valley – “the other Silicon Valley,” stressed Ro Khanna, elected from California to the congress, that of the Latino construction workers and precarious jobs -, Bernie Sanders announced that he did not intend to round off the angles to coax the centrists. “The candidate who wins in California will probably be the one who wins the Democratic nomination,” he said. Let us change the political culture of the United States. Let us make sure we have the most significant stake in the history of California. “‘
Her voice was overwhelmed with cheers: “Bernie! Bernie! ” After a Rockstar output on the piece Power to the People, John Lennon, Senator of 78 years left for the next stage; a meeting of 17,000 people in Los Angeles, opened by rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy.
Bernie Sanders nevertheless fears to suffer from the system of primaries which, in California, imposes on the independents – those voters who declare no preference when registering on the electoral lists – to ask to participate in the ballot expressly. With an estimated, 5 million in the state, and not all of them made the process on time.
“Address to the nation.”
Behind the senator from Vermont, the fight was intense to obtain 15%. According to Democratic Party rules, those who do not get 15% are eliminated from the distribution of delegates. Among its 415 delegates, California has 144 seats to be distributed at the state level, and 271 others distributed to candidates’ constituency by constituency. If Bernie Sanders is the only one to exceed the score of 15%, thanks to the crumbling of the center, the 144 state delegates will gratify him. The same configuration could be repeated in the constituencies. Mr. Sanders could win a vast majority of delegates without having a comparable majority of votes.
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren, who was leading in early January in the Golden State, lost ground after having changed from an overqualified candidate, having “a plan “for everything, to belligerent letting nothing pass. Joe Biden, who has received the support of the Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti, hopes to recover the votes of Pete Buttigieg, the young centrist who abandoned the race Monday. If it is not too late: 46% of voters have already voted.
Michael Bloomberg plays his part. He received the support of two African American mayors: London Breed, in San Francisco, and Michael Tubbs, 29, a rising figure of the Democratic Party, in Stockton. He spent $ 60 million on advertisements touting his experience at New York City Hall and his childhood with a modest Massachusetts family.
Mr. Bloomberg
Mr. Bloomberg is the one who picked up the theme of the Trump administration’s unpreparedness against the coronavirus the quickest. On Sunday evening, he offered himself three minutes of publicity on the mainstream channels NBC and CBS, a message qualified as “of address to the nation” as if he were already president. He recalls in passing that he funds the faculty of public health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. And declares that the first duty of a president is to “reassure.”