California holds primary elections, Senate race in focus

SACRAMENTO, United States - Voters across California, the most populous state in the United States, participated in the state's 2024 primary election on Tuesday, casting their ballots in both the presidential race and local ones.

This year's primary election in California features several high-profile contests, notably the race to fill the seat left vacant by the late Senator Dianne Feinstein and the presidential race where Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican front-runner Donald Trump aim to secure more delegates towards their respective nominations.

Biden and Trump are positioned to advance towards securing their party's nominations in Tuesday's election, potentially setting the stage for a rematch in the 2024 presidential election.

Despite their dominance in the early stages of the campaign, polls indicated that a majority of Americans doubt both Biden and Trump's mental acuity for the job, raising concerns about a repeat of the 2020 election dynamics, according to a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

While Biden, 81, is the oldest president in US history, Trump, 77, also faces questions about age.

While many other states are watching the presidential primary elections closely, Californians are focusing on the tight race to fill the state's US Senate seat vacated by the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, who had held the seat for over three decades.

California has nearly twice as many registered Democrats than Republicans. A Republican hasn't won a Senate race since 1988 in the state.

With a significant Democratic voter base in California and a historical trend favoring Democrats in Senate races, first-time Republican candidate Steve Garvey, a former baseball star, emerges as a potential contender against Democratic frontrunner Adam Schiff.

California puts all candidates, regardless of party, on one primary ballot, and the two who get the most votes advance to the general election.

Schiff gained national attention as a chief antagonist to Trump during his years in the White House. For months, Schiff has had the fundraising and polling edge, but Garvey's prospects for claiming the second spot on the November general election ballot cannot be discounted.

The possibility of a low voter turnout may boost Garvey's prospects as the state's most reliable voters typically consist of older, white, conservative-leaning homeowners.

Another highly debated topic on California's 2024 primary election ballot is the controversial Proposition 1 mental health measure, which promises to build more mental health treatment facilities across the state and further address the homeless crisis.

If voters approve the measure, the state government would borrow and spend $6.4 billion in bonds to expand the state's homeless housing and mental health infrastructure. However, opponents argue that such a measure may pose a significant financial burden on taxpayers by reallocating mental health funds from counties to the state level and mandating spending guidelines.