San Diego’s longtime District Attorney goes full politician, facing her first contested election in a decade.

San Diego’s District Attorney is a bit of a trailblazer. In a way, Bonnie Dumanis is sort of a rags-to-riches story, going from secretarial work to attorney to judge, and in 2002 she was chosen by the electorate to become the top law enforcement official in all of San Diego County, beating Paul Pfingst to become the DA. And oh-by-the-way: She’s the first openly gay person to be elected District Attorney in the nation.   [Read more…]

As Scott Peters and Lori Saldaña joust over who is more likely to defeat Brian Bilbray in November, the key will be who can carry the “Decline to State” vote. Can Peters’ appeal to moderates and fundraising advantage overcome Saldaña’s grass roots machine?

It should be fairly common knowledge by now that Scott Peters is not exactly a flaming liberal. Don’t expect him to embark on a crusade to ban all domestic oil production, nationalize all banks in response to the financial meltdown, and demand that single-payer healthcare be instituted immediately (although he probably wouldn’t mind seeing a shift toward a single-payer system). And that’s perfectly okay. He’s a pragmatist; a realist who recognizes the climate around him for what it is and finds a way to work within it while continuing to chip away to change things toward what in his view is the better.   [Read more…]

Democrats Lori Saldaña and Scott Peters challenge incumbent Republican Brian Bilbray in San Diego’s newly redrawn 52nd Congressional District. Which Democrat stands the best chance to defeat an incumbent who is widely viewed as vulnerable?

Things have changed significantly since the 2010 election. California has a new primary system put in place by the voters. Unlike the previous system, where unless one candidate earned more than 50% of the total vote, the top vote getters from each party would advance to the general election in November. This time around the top two vote getters regardless of party affiliation will advance to the November general; unless of course someone earns more than 50% on June 5th, which is very highly unlikely.   [Read more…]