More than most anywhere else in the state, Valley Democrats depend on heavy turnouts to survive, especially during primaries, when crowded fields of candidates slice and dice votes so that outcomes often depend on hard-core voters whose loyalties tend deeply conservative and favor hard-right candidates. Even though turnouts for this year’s primaries rivaled all-time lows, outcomes were often surprising. In most races, Valley Democrats exceeded expectations, especially in the contest […]
Adam Gray for Congress
Valley Voters: With Democracy in Peril
There are two imperatives this election year. First and foremost is the pressing need to defeat American authoritarianism. That need obliterates almost everything else. It can be addressed by withholding votes from Republicans no matter who or where they are and no matter what they’re running for. Led by Donald Trump, the Republican Party has made clear its opposition to free and fair elections, democratic rule, and commitment to the […]
Josh Harder’s Shadow Looms Over District 13 Race for Congress
The conventional wisdom says Merced’s Adam Gray is an easy winner in this year’s race for Congress in California’s newly configured District 13 (CA-13). Gray’s years in the State Assembly District in the same region as CA-13 give him what amounts to incumbent status and his careful cultivation of the conservative Democrat “Blue Dog” persona theoretically immunizes him from threats to his right. It’s supposedly impossible for San Joaquin Valley […]
Phil Arballo Has Serious Questions for Adam Gray
Josh Harder did more than upset incumbent Republican Congressman Jeff Denham in 2018, he also upset the conventional wisdom. Prior to Harder’s win, Valley Democrats were barely distinguishable from Republicans. The conventional wisdom said that in one of the reddest regions in the state, Democrats could win only by fending off competition from the right, hence the cloning of the “Blue Dog” Democrat, a political species so adept at mimicry […]
Flash! Harder to Run in 9, Adam Gray in 13
In a stunning move brought about by the tumult resulting from redistricting in California, Josh Harder just announced he will now be running for Congress in California District 9, a slot previously designated for Representative Jerry McNerney, who is stepping down. Harder had only recently announced for District 13, which includes a large swath of Adam Gray’s current Assembly District. Persistent rumors have circulated that Gray was also thought well-suited […]