{"id":250077,"date":"2022-06-10T05:25:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=250077"},"modified":"2022-06-16T08:27:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T15:27:06","slug":"california-controller-primary-chen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_ko\/politics\/2022\/06\/california-controller-primary-chen\/","title":{"rendered":"Chen controls California controller race, but for how long?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\n\t\t
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In summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Republican Lanhee Chen leads the California controller primary, but faces an uphill battle to win in November and break 16-year GOP drought for statewide office. His likely opponent is Malia Cohen, who has the support of labor and the Democratic Party. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

In the race for California controller, the June 7 primary was, in many ways, the main event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on voter registration, it was widely expected that Lanhee Chen<\/a>, the sole Republican in the race, would land one of two spots to advance to the general election. And as of Wednesday, Chen had 37% of the vote \u2014 one of the stronger showings recently for a Republican in a statewide top-two primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the bigger question was which of the four Democrats<\/a> would advance \u2014 and based on simple math, grab a head start to win in November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, Malia Cohen<\/a>, chairperson of the state Board of Equalization, was declared the second-place finisher<\/a> and will face Chen in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Wednesday, Cohen had reaped 22.5% of the vote<\/a> \u2014 with Yvonne Yiu<\/a>, a city council member from Monterey Park in Southern California, trailing at 15.1% despite spending nearly $6 million of her own money<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yiu is doing better, however, than state Sen. Steve Glazer <\/a>(just 11.3% of the vote) and Ron Galperin<\/a>, the only candidate with \u201ccontroller\u201d next to their name on the ballot as city controller from Los Angeles (10.2%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday morning, Galperin conceded second place to Cohen. \u201cI am very proud of the coalition we built and the support our campaign earned in such a brief period of time \u2013 and of the focus we have brought to improving how our state works,\u201d he said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Chen and Cohen?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chen had the full support of the Republican Party. His primary message<\/a> that California needs an independent financial watchdog outside the Democratic power structure appealed to several major newspaper editorial boards, and to voters.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cohen had the big advantages of the official California Democratic Party\u2019s blessing, plus endorsements<\/a> from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, seven statewide constitutional officers and numerous members of Congress and the Legislature. She also had the backing of, and more than $1.3 million from, influential labor groups, including nurses and teachers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe coalition of support is what got us here,\u201d Cohen told CalMatters Thursday. \u201cYou\u2019re judged by the company you keep, and what distinguished our campaign is our base was broad and wide, and it continues to grow.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consultant Garry South said that while party endorsements don\u2019t always make a difference, they can be impactful in a competitive down-ballot race such as controller, especially when the candidates are not well-known statewide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can be effective in cases in primaries where you have multiple Democrats running,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also helpful financially: Having the party\u2019s seal of approval gives a candidate access to donors and other resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe coalition of support is what got us here.”<\/p>democrat malia cohen, on track to finish second in the primary<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s more helpful in the general election, Cohen said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Cohen was smart about how she spent her money, campaign strategist Dana Williamson said at a Sacramento Press Club post-primary discussion Thursday. That included buying television time and spending cash early in the Bay Area, where she has name recognition from eight years on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n