Key Races to Watch in California’s March 5 Primary

Primary season is officially underway for the 22 million registered voters in California.

Ballots have already gone out for the March 5 primary, in which voters will choose their nominees for president, and also weigh in on a number of state and local contests that could have big ramifications for the state’s future.

Voters will have their say on a ballot measure championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would finance mental health treatment; choose candidates for the State Legislature; and decide many local races, including the crowded contest for district attorney in Los Angeles.

Ballots were sent on Feb. 5 to every registered voter in the state, and they can be returned by mail or handed in at secure drop-off locations or county elections offices. Some locations for early in-person voting will open on Saturday.

Here are some of the key races.

Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat

When Dianne Feinstein died in September, the U.S. Senate seat that she had held for more than three decades fell vacant. Newsom swiftly appointed Laphonza Butler to serve until elections could be held to fill the vacancy, and Butler decided not to run, clearing the way for an open primary race.

Four leading candidates have emerged from a crowded field:

• Representative Adam Schiff, 63, Democrat of Burbank, currently the front-runner in polls and perhaps best known for having served as the lead prosecutor in the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump;

• Representative Katie Porter, 50, an Orange County Democrat known for grilling powerful leaders during congressional hearings;

• Representative Barbara Lee, 77, Democrat of Oakland and a longtime progressive;

• Steve Garvey, 75, a former first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres and the only Republican among the four leaders.

In California’s election system, all candidates, regardless of party, compete in a single primary, and the two who receive the most votes advance to the general election. For a while, it seemed that Schiff and Porter were headed for an intraparty battle in November. But Garvey’s fame and some strategic ads from Schiff have made Garvey a serious threat to knock Porter out of the running, as my colleague Shawn Hubler explained Tuesday.

An Emerson College poll released on Tuesday showed Garvey overtaking Porter for second place in the primary race. Since Schiff appears to be well positioned to survive the primary, the main question is whether Porter will as well, and give him a serious challenge in November. Garvey would stand little chance of winning the general election; California voters haven’t elected a Republican in a statewide race since 2006.