Some Democrats Float Strategy of Waiting Until Final Days to Vote In Primary For Governor, Focusing on Frontrunner

"Though it's not likely, Democrats in California run the risk of splitting their votes in the June primary and getting locked out of the November election, so some are arguing for being strategic with your vote. A vote for Matt Mahan or Katie Porter might, at this point, be a throwaway vote in the June 2 primary unless one or the other rises suddenly in the polls to overtake Tom Steyer or Xavier Becerra."

"Becerra, who's now the subject of some aggressive attack ads, has been on a quick rise in the last month, overtaking Steyer by six percentage points in the latest poll. And so, some Democrats online are pushing for a strategy of withholding their votes until Election Day or just before it, and voting for whichever Democrat in the race is polling at the top in three weeks time because, who knows, some of those attacks on Becerra may stick, and things could shift once more."

"As Cal Matters reports, the push for voting late and coalescing around the lead candidate isn't coming from any official party channels, but through social media, where a post from April 30 falsely attributed the strategy to popular Democratic influencer Heather Cox Richardson. And some, including political consultant Paul Mitchell, say it's a silly idea because voter turnout by early voting, or whathaveyou is the most important thing, and actually organizing a campaign to accomplish this "wait until the last minute" strategy is nearly impossible at this point."

""I think people vote for whoever they were going to vote for anyway," Mitchell tells Cal Matters. Still, the vote-splitting issue remains a worrisome one in many Democrats' minds, with Becerra having edged out Steyer as the frontrunner in a poll released Monday. That poll, from Kreate Strategies, surveyed 900 likely voters, and found Republican Steve Hilton taking 22% of the vote, with Becerra at 20%, Steyer at 14%, and the second Republican Chad Bianco nipping at Steyer's heels at 13%."

Democrats in California face concern that splitting votes in the June 2 primary could prevent them from winning in November. Some voters and online advocates suggest withholding support for candidates like Matt Mahan or Katie Porter unless polling changes, then voting later for whichever Democrat leads closer to Election Day. The concern is tied to aggressive attack ads targeting Xavier Becerra and recent polling showing Becerra rising and overtaking Tom Steyer by about six points. A social media post falsely attributed the late-voting strategy to Heather Cox Richardson, and political consultant Paul Mitchell criticized the idea as unrealistic because turnout and early voting make coordinated last-minute shifts difficult. Polling from Kreate Strategies surveyed likely voters and showed Steve Hilton leading Republicans, with Becerra ahead of Steyer and Porter under 10%.

Read at sfist.com