California's capital city is called SACRAMENTO. Republicans think they have a chance this year to oust an appointed state attorney general they say is too progressive even for California because they view him as soft on crime.
They need to avoid alienating key independent voters during the primary campaign if they want to defeat Rob Bonta.
In California, the two top vote-getting candidates advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. Bonta is the only Democrat and is expected to advance out of the June 7 primary.
Two Republicans are running and so is a district attorney who gave up her GOP affiliation four years ago and is running as an independent, a label that some see as more inviting to voters in a state that overwhelmingly favors Democrats.
The race could show if voters want a new direction after easing criminal sentences. One of the most visible races this election year is the contest for California governor.
Earl Warren went on to become chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Edmund Brown became governor and Jerry Brown resurrected his political career.
The two attorneys general before Bonta were the current vice president and secretary of Health and Human Services.
The last Republican attorney general left office in 1999 and the party hasn't won a statewide election since. Republicans want to draw attention to what they say are Democratic failures to curb violent crime and reduce homelessness.
Nathan Hochman, a former assistant U.S. attorney general, was endorsed by the state GOP.
Eric Early was lead legal counsel for the unsuccessful effort to recall Gov.Gavin Newsom. Early finished last in the attorney general election.
Many law enforcement leaders are supporting Anne Marie Schubert, who is running as a no-party-preference candidate. The Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, who avoided arrest for decades, was identified and successfully prosecuted by Schubert.
Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant who is not involved in any of the campaigns, said that Bonta's race to lose is still very much going on.
Madrid said that if she gets out of the primary with a significant share of the Democratic base, she will win the general election.
Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College gives her a real shot, noting she is not affiliated with the far right of the GOP and that California voters have sometimes shown a criminal justice conservative streak by rejecting efforts to end cash bail.
Hochman supports a bipartisan bill that would make human trafficking a violent felony. He wants to coordinate prosecutions of traffickers statewide, seize their assets and start a human trafficking education campaign.
Rob Stutzman said that her career as a prosecutor made her more appealing to voters of all political stripes who buy into her theme that California is in chaos.
While accepting the endorsements of the union representing California Highway Patrol officers and the rank-and-file Peace Officers Research Association of California, Schubert said that they must fix the mistakes of the woke and reckless reforms that are now wreaking havoc on all Californians.
She said her decision to run as an independent was not politically motivated.
Bonta leads the field with $7 million, followed by Schubert with $2.2 million, Hochman with $1.8 million and Early with $550,000.
Bonta has never had a statewide election. He was appointed attorney general in March 2021.
He was one of the state's most progressive lawmakers, representing a San Francisco Bay Area district in the state Assembly.
California law is America's last line of defense when it comes to legal issues, according to Bonta.
He said that public safety has been the top job.
The influential California Correctional Peace Officers Association backed Bonta.
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