In perhaps a vain attempt to prove themselves moderate, the Democratic lawmakers helped override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes. Voters responded with the kind of ballot-box fury that should serve as a lesson to other incumbents. It wasn't just a case that the incumbents lost. They were buried, with several of them getting trounced by margins of 40 points or more.
We need someone who has new ideas, new energy and a new perspective to be an advocate for our community. I'm not running against a person, I'm running against the problem, and the problem is the status quo.
Affordability has been, understandably, the watchword for Democratic candidates over the last year. After downplaying inflation under Joe Biden, the party learned a brutal lesson when Donald Trump rode the cost-of-living crisis back to the White House in 2024. In 2025, Zohran Mamdani put affordability at the center of his own campaign and surged from the back of the pack to City Hall.
In California, the top two vote-getters in the governor's race, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the November general election. That means if too many Democratic candidates split the vote, it could create a situation where two Republicans end up in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the primary election, thus locking Democrats out of the November runoff.