In the 48th district of CA, national Democrats are backing Harley Rouda in hopes of knocking off Dana Rohrabacher.
Jonathan Martin at NYT writes about the possibility that the top-two system will result in R-on-R general elections that Democrats could otherwise carry. In there Rohrabacher race, for instance, there is a chance that the Democrats will split their vote, resulting in a general election pitting the incumbent against Republican challenger Scott Baugh.
The “top two” system was meant to create incentives for political moderation in a state where about a quarter of the voters are independents, but it has created immense stakes for Democrats: They need to win 23 seats to take back the House, and party officials believe the path runs through the seven competitive California districts, all of which Hillary Clinton carried in 2016.
“It’s a disaster,” Gail Reisman, a retired gerontologist and Toronto native who lives in Representative Dana Rohrabacher’s district, said after attending a candidate forum Tuesday. “If we have two Republicans running I think I’m going back to Canada.”
