03/29/2024

Let’s Face It, California, The Democrats Just Aren’t That Into Us

Fourteen Democratic presidential contenders blew into San Francisco last weekend to woo the delegates to the state Democratic Party convention and whisper sweet nothings to California voters.

They promised to give us the time and attention we deserve, now that we’ve moved our primary up into early March. And then they were gone — headed back to Iowa and New Hampshire, leaving only a small coterie of campaign staff and some YouTube videos to remember them by. They’ll be back for an occasional fundraising overnighter or weekend fling of grassroots campaigning. But if Californians thought we had a special bond with President Trump’s most likely opponents, the cold, hard truth will be apparent soon enough.

They’re just not that into us.

When California moved its presidential primary from the end of the nomination process in June up to March 3, Golden State voters expected to finally have a voice in the selection of a nominee. But the state did the same thing in 1996, 2000 and 2004 and found it was still too late to do anything but ratify the choices of the states that preceded us. In 2008, California moved its primary to early February; even then all we did was seal John McCain’s Republican nomination and slightly prolong Hillary Clinton’s challenge to Barack Obama.

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