He refused to resign and defiantly declared his intent to run
On Super Tuesday, California voters moved through their primary rituals with predictable outcomes at the top and turbulent contests below. Biden and Trump claimed their expected victories, but the deeper story lived in the Senate race, the DA's office, and city councils — where questions of crime, accountability, and identity revealed a state wrestling with the distance between its self-image and its lived reality. From Los Angeles to Huntington Beach, the ballot became a mirror, reflecting not just political preference but the anxieties of a society navigating change at uneven speeds.
- Biden and Trump claimed California without drama, but the races beneath the surface crackled with genuine uncertainty and consequence.
- Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey both advanced to a November Senate runoff — a matchup that left many Democrats uneasy in a state they dominate by registration but not always by mood.
- LA County DA George Gascón entered the general election phase clinging to a narrow lead, his tenure shadowed by viral crime footage that outpaced the actual data showing declining violence.
- Kevin de León, still in office despite a racial slur scandal that toppled colleagues around him, led early in his City Council race — a defiant political survival story still unresolved.
- Huntington Beach voters approved voter ID requirements and a measure critics called a ban on Pride flags, signaling a conservative cultural assertion within a state trending the other direction.
- Proposition 1, Newsom's landmark mental health and homelessness measure, sat at a razor-thin 50-50 split — its fate, and the governor's signature legacy item, left to days of counting.
California's Super Tuesday primary delivered its expected headlines — Biden won the Democratic presidential contest, Trump the Republican — but the state's real political temperature was measured further down the ballot, where contested races exposed fractures in the Democratic coalition and a public mood more complicated than party registration numbers suggest.
The most closely watched race was for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Dianne Feinstein's death. Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey both advanced to November, with Schiff holding a narrow lead of 33 percent to Garvey's 32 percent when roughly half the votes were counted. The outcome ended the campaign of Representative Katie Porter, who had run for the full six-year term and would now lose her congressional seat in the process.
In Los Angeles County, District Attorney George Gascón faced a crowded field of eleven challengers in a race that had become a proxy war over public safety. Early returns showed him at 21 percent, with prosecutor Nathan Hochman close behind at 18 percent. Despite data showing violent crime had actually declined in both the city and county in 2023, the political narrative had been shaped by viral footage of retail thefts and smash-and-grab robberies — a reminder that perception often governs elections more than statistics.
In LA's 4th Supervisorial District, incumbent Janice Hahn led with 55 percent, potentially enough to avoid a runoff entirely. Her challenger, former Sheriff Alex Villanueva — who had clashed repeatedly with the board over deputy misconduct and county oversight — trailed at 30 percent, extending a losing streak that began with his 2022 defeat. Meanwhile, in City Council District 14, Councilman Kevin de León led early despite having refused to resign after audio recordings captured him making racially charged remarks — a scandal that had already claimed two of his colleagues.
Congressional races in Southern California reflected the region's shifting demographics. In Orange County's 47th District, Republican Scott Baugh and Democrat Dave Min led to fill Katie Porter's vacated seat — a district that had drifted from its Reagan-era roots toward competitive ground. In the 45th District, Republican Michelle Steel advanced to defend a seat drawn to reflect the area's large Asian American population, a race watched nationally for signals about that community's political direction.
Governor Newsom's Proposition 1 — a sweeping overhaul of the state's mental health funding system and his most prominent response to the homelessness crisis — sat at an exact 50-50 split with half the expected vote counted. Final results would take days. And in Huntington Beach, voters approved charter measures requiring voter identification at the polls and restricting signs on public property — a move critics argued was aimed squarely at preventing the display of LGBTQ+ Pride flags on city grounds. All three measures passed with roughly 53 to 58 percent support.
California's primary election on Super Tuesday delivered few surprises at the top of the ticket but exposed deep fractures in races further down the ballot. President Joe Biden swept the Democratic primary and Donald Trump won the Republican side, outcomes that were never in serious doubt in a state that has voted Democratic in every presidential general election since 1992. But the real story unfolding across California was messier, more contested, and far more revealing about the state's political mood.
The marquee race was for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Dianne Feinstein's death. Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey both advanced to November, a result that surprised few observers but disappointed many Democrats who had hoped to avoid a general election matchup between a Democrat and a Republican in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one. With roughly half the vote counted on election night, Schiff held 33 percent to Garvey's 32 percent. The race also determined who would fill the remaining weeks of Feinstein's term, and both men advanced in that contest as well. The outcome meant that U.S. Representative Katie Porter, who had run for the full six-year seat, would not advance and would lose her congressional position in the process.
In Los Angeles County, District Attorney George Gascón entered the general election phase of his race to keep his job, though early returns showed him vulnerable. With about 55 percent of votes tallied, Gascón held just 21 percent, with prosecutor Nathan Hochman close behind at 18 percent. The race had become a referendum on crime and public safety in the county, despite data showing that violent crime in Los Angeles city had actually declined more than 3 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, and countywide violent crime fell nearly 1.5 percent. But the narrative had been shaped by viral videos of brazen retail thefts and smash-and-grab robberies at luxury stores, creating a perception of lawlessness that overshadowed the actual crime statistics. Gascón faced eleven challengers in the nonpartisan primary.
In the race for Los Angeles County Supervisor in District 4, incumbent Janice Hahn was running well ahead of her challengers. Early returns showed Hahn with 55 percent of the vote, compared to 30 percent for former Sheriff Alex Villanueva and 15 percent for John Cruikshank. If Hahn maintained her lead above 50 percent, she would avoid a November runoff and win outright. Hahn has held the seat since 2016, continuing a family legacy—her father Kenneth Hahn served on the board for four decades. Villanueva, who had clashed with Hahn and other supervisors over issues including deputy gang activity and county oversight, had already suffered a rare defeat for an incumbent sheriff in 2022, losing to Robert Luna.
In Los Angeles City Council District 14, Councilman Kevin de León took an early lead with 27 percent of the vote, ahead of Miguel Santiago at 20 percent and Ysabel J. Jurado at 19 percent. De León's position was precarious despite his early numbers. A year earlier, audio recordings had surfaced of him making racially charged comments during a private meeting about council redistricting. The scandal had forced former Council President Nury Martinez to resign and contributed to Councilman Gil Cedillo losing his re-election bid. De León, however, had resisted calls to step down, defiantly declaring his intention to run for re-election despite protests in City Council chambers. He faced seven challengers in the primary.
Across Southern California, congressional races reflected the shifting political landscape. In Orange County's 47th District, Republican Scott Baugh and Democrat Dave Min led early returns to fill the seat vacated by Katie Porter. The district, once the heart of Reagan Country and reliably Republican, had grown demographically diverse and increasingly Democratic in recent years. Republicans viewed it as a top pickup opportunity. In the 45th District, Republican Michelle Steel advanced to defend her seat, representing a district drawn to amplify Asian American voting power and home to the nation's largest Vietnamese community. The race would be watched nationally for signals about Asian American voter preferences.
Voters also weighed in on Proposition 1, Governor Gavin Newsom's signature ballot measure aimed at addressing the state's homelessness crisis through the first major update to California's mental health system in two decades. Early returns showed the measure split evenly at 50-50 with half the expected vote reported. The measure needed only a simple majority to pass, but it was too early to call, and final results would take days to tally. In Huntington Beach, voters approved three controversial charter reform measures, including one requiring voter identification at polls and another regulating signs on public property in a measure critics said was designed to prevent the flying of LGBTQ+ Pride flags on city property. All three measures led with roughly 53 to 58 percent of the vote with all ballots counted.
Notable Quotes
Gascón and other board members clashed sharply with Villanueva during his single term as sheriff over issues such as control over deputy gangs and his resistance to oversight by the county.— reporting on Janice Hahn vs. Alex Villanueva race
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Schiff and Garvey both advanced to November? Isn't that just how primaries work?
It matters because California is so heavily Democratic that winning the primary usually means winning the general election. Democrats were hoping for two Democrats to advance so the seat would stay safely blue. Instead, they got a general election they'll have to actually fight.
And Katie Porter—she was a sitting congresswoman, right? How does she end up with nothing?
She gambled. She ran for the Senate seat instead of defending her congressional seat. When she didn't make the top two in the Senate primary, she lost both races. It's a cautionary tale about ambition.
The crime numbers actually went down, but people think crime went up. How does that happen?
Because perception is shaped by what you see and remember, not by statistics. A few viral videos of smash-and-grab robberies stick in your mind more than a spreadsheet showing a 3 percent decline. Gascón is paying the price for that gap between reality and narrative.
What's the deal with Kevin de León? He made racist comments and just... stayed?
He refused to resign, refused to apologize in the way people demanded, and ran for re-election anyway. It's a test of whether voters will punish him or whether his early lead holds. The answer isn't clear yet.
Orange County used to be Republican stronghold. Is it flipping?
It's already flipped in many ways. The demographics have changed completely—it's far more diverse now, far more Democratic. The 47th District race is Republicans trying to reclaim ground they've already lost.