Democrats’ fortunes will depend heavily on whether millennials, minorities and women turn out in large numbers, as all three groups now favor Democrats in the county. Additionally, if current polling holds, two Democrats — and no Republicans — will be vying for governor in November, which wouldn’t help GOP turnout.
If 2018 shapes up as a good time for women to run for office, then it stands to reason that elections for state legislative offices will be the most promising place for women to run. Accusations of predatory behavior toward women by politically powerful men have focused on the state capitol in Sacramento. The theory goes that voters will see putting more women in power as part of the solution — or at least as a way to register disgust.
More than a dozen organizations assign a grade to each member of the state Senate and Assembly, distributed on an annual scorecard. Some assessments have already been published; others will be released in early 2018. It's important to call them what they really are: an electoral litmus test, one that fuels campaign donations and is later splashed across mail sent to voters — "Jane Smith is a champion/destroyer of the environment," for example. It can be effective for voters who have little other information on the job their legislator has been doing in Sacramento.
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