DEMS/ELECTIONS/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As Californians prepare to go to the polls on Tuesday [6-5-18] to choose candidates in primary elections, the state’s quirky electoral rules and a softening of support for Democrats among suburban voters could disrupt the party’s ambitious plan to wrest as many as 10 seats from Republicans in California. November’s general election could change the balance of power in the U.S. Congress, where Republicans control both chambers. Democrats need to win 23 seats nationwide to have a majority in the House of Representatives, considered a very real possibility. Most of California’s congressional districts did not go for the Republican Party’s leader, Donald Trump, in the 2016 presidential election…For the first time, the number of registered voters who are Republicans slipped below the number of independents, leaving the party in third place, said Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data www.politicaldata.com, which analyzed registration information from the state this week…So many enthusiastic newcomers have tossed their hats in the ring in an effort to unseat vulnerable incumbent Republicans or to claim seats vacated by resigning Republicans that they may simply divide the anti-Trump vote among themselves.”
-Sharon Bernstein, “Bumpy road for California Democrats targeting Republican House seats,” Reuters, June 1, 2018 11:38 am