Voters Head to the Polls in Primary Election for Governor, Senate Posts
On Tuesday, California voters will cast ballots to determine which Republican and Democratic candidates will secure party nominations in races for governor, senator and other political seats, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The primary pits State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner against former eBay CEO Meg Whitman in a battle to secure the Republican nomination to challenge the likely Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Attorney General and former Gov. Jerry Brown.
In the Republican race to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer (D), former Hewlett Packard executive Carly Fiorina is facing off against former Rep. Tom Campbell and Assembly member Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) (Decker, Los Angeles Times, 6/9).
Whitman, Poizner on Health Reform
Whitman has said that California should work to block the federal health care reform law because it would add to California's budget deficit. She said she would "strongly encourage" the state attorney general to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law (California Healthline, 3/31).
Poizner has said the new reform law will make it more difficult for the state to balance its budget and has called on the state attorney general to file a suit against the law (California Healthline, 3/25).
Fiorina, Campbell, DeVore on Health Reform
All three Republican senatorial candidates have said they believe the new health reform law is unconstitutional and should be repealed.
Although each candidate has a different plan for reforming the U.S. health care system, each expressed support for:
- Changing the legal system to limit medical malpractice lawsuits;
- Permitting insurers to compete across state lines; and
- Shifting from an employer-based insurance system to an individual-based system (California Healthline, 5/5).
Other Coverage
Links and headlines for additional coverage of California's primary races are provided below.
- "Voters' Support for Members of Congress is at an All-Time Low, Poll Finds" (Balz/Cohen, Washington Post, 6/8).
- "Primaries Test Mood of Voters at Midterm" (Steinhauer, New York Times, 6/7).
- "California Is Stuck in 1st Gear" (Tuna, Wall Street Journal, 6/8).