California: The Associated Press on Wednesday evening made calls in several House top-two primaries, though some June 7 contests remain unresolved as California continues to count ballots. Here’s a look at where things stand in the newly-called races as of Thursday afternoon; note that some of these margins could still shift in the coming days:
• CA-13: Republican agribusinessman John Duarte took first with 34%, while Assemblyman Adam Gray beat out his fellow Democrat, financial advisor Phil Arballo, 31-17 for the second spot in the Nov. 8 general election. Biden would have carried this newly-drawn mid-Central Valley constituency, which does not have an incumbent, 54-43.
• CA-15: Assemblyman Kevin Mullin is in first with 42% while another Democrat, San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, defeated Republican Gus Mattammal 24-17. The winner will succeed retiring Rep. Jackie Speier, who supports Mullin, in a dark-blue seat that includes most of San Mateo County as well as a portion of San Francisco to the north.
• CA-42: Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who had the backing of much of the state Democratic establishment, leads with 47%, while Republican John Briscoe edged out Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia 27-13. That’s very welcome news for Robert Garcia, who would be the first gay Latino to represent California in Congress, as he’ll have little to fear from Brisco in this open 72-26 Biden seat; indeed, the mayor and his allies did what they could to make sure Brisco was his opponent instead of Cristina Garcia.
• CA-49: Democratic Rep. Mike Levin leads with 49% while San Juan Capistrano Councilman Brian Maryott beat another Republican, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, 19-11 for second. Levin beat Maryott 53-47 in 2020 for this suburban San Diego seat that changed very little in redistricting and would have voted 55-43 for Biden; the congressman unsuccessfully worked to try and elevate a third Republican, Oceanside City Councilman Christopher Rodriguez.
Finally, here’s the state of play in a few key contests where only the top spot has been called:
• CA-22: With 37,000 votes in, Democratic Assemblyman Rudy Salas is in first with 44% as Rep. David Valadao holds a 26-22 advantage over his fellow Republican, former Fresno City Councilman Chris Mathys. Democrats spent late in an effort to boost Mathys past Valadao to give themselves a better shot of taking back a Central Valley seat that Biden would have carried 55-42.
• CA-37: State Sen. Sydney Kamlager remains far in first with 44% with 72,000 ballots counted while two fellow Democrats, former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry and Culver City Vice Mayor Daniel Lee, are at 19% and 17%, respectively. The ultimate winner will succeed Rep. Karen Bass, who is running for mayor of Los Angeles and backs Kamlager here.
• CA-AG: Democratic incumbent Rob Bonta is well ahead with 55% with 5.9 million votes in, while former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman maintains a 19-17 edge over fellow Republican Eric Early. Bonta’s allies took action during the campaign to try and ensure Early, a far-right Trumpy candidate, was his opponent. However, the independent contender they very much didn’t want to face, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, fell far short of advancing after she grabbed just 8%.