Reform California today announced the “top target” seats it will focus on in the upcoming November 2022 elections. Reform California Chairman Carl DeMaio says based on an undeniable national Red Wave building as well as promising signs from the June state primary, he’s feeling optimistic that big wins can happen even in California this election cycle.
“Voters are clearly fed up with the Democrat Super-Majority that has run this state into the ditch and the voters are saying they are looking to make big changes in 2022 — starting with some of these races we’ll be targeting,” said DeMaio.
DeMaio points to signs of what he calls a “Red Bump” in the June primary results. Analysis released by Reform California shows Democrat candidates significantly under-performed the 2020 Presidential partisan voting averages on voting in key races across California.
The results also show strong performances from candidates backed by Reform California. “Where we invested our resources in the June Primary we saw tremendous returns,” DeMaio noted.
In these “top target” races for the general election, reform-minded candidates successfully made it past the “top two” primary system. Under state law, the top two vote-getters in each race regardless of their political party advance to November runoffs versus the old system of advancing one candidate from each political party.
At the top of Reform’s target list are the following statewide races, where a Republican will advance past the “top two” primary in every race for the first time since the system became law:
STATEWIDE RACES
- Governor: Brian Dahle
- Lt. Governor: Angela Underwood Jacobs
- Secretary of State: Rob Bernoski
- Treasurer: Jack Guererro
- Controller: Lanhee Chen *PRIORITY RACE*
- Attorney General: Nathan Hochman *PRIORITY RACE*
- Insurance Commissioner: Robert Howell
- Superintendent of Public Instruction: Lance Christensen *PRIORITY RACE*
DeMaio says Reform California’s efforts statewide will help all of these candidates, but he notes that additional emphasis will be placed on the three statewide “Priority Races” as the best pick-up opportunities in this cycle.
CONGRESSIONAL RACES
- CD 3 - Kevin Kiley (Defend seat)
- CD 9 - Tom Patti (Pick up seat)
- CD13 - John Duarte (Pick up seat)
- CD 22 - David Valadao (Defend seat)
- CD 27 - Mike Garcia (Defend seat)
- CD40 - Young Kim (Defend seat)
- CD 41- Ken Calvert (Defend seat)
- CD 45 - Michelle Steel (Defend seat)
- CD 47 - Scott Baugh (Pick up seat)
- CD 49 - Brian Maryott (Pick up seat)
STATE SENATE RACES
- SD 6 - Roger Niello (Defend seat)
- SD 14 - Amnon Shor (Pick up seat)
- SD 16 - David Shepard (Pick up seat)
- SD 34 - Rhonda Shader (Pick up seat)
- SD 36 - Janet Nguyen (Pick up seat)
- SD 38 - Matt Gunderson (Defend seat)
- SD40 - Brian Jones (Defend seat)
**Already losing SD 4 - need to win all defense seats and at least one pick up seat to break even.
STATE ASSEMBLY RACES
- AD 7 - Josh Hoover (Pick up seat)
- AD 22 - Juan Alanis (Pick up seat)
- AD 27 - Mark Pazin (Pick up seat)
- AD 40 - Suzette Valladares (Defend seat)
- AD 42 - Lori Mills (Pick up seat)
- AD 47 - Greg Wallis (Pick up seat)
- AD 58 - Bernard Murphy (Pick up seat)
- AD 60 - Hector Diaz-Nava (Pick up seat)
- AD 67 - Soo Yoo (Pick up seat)
- AD 72 - Diane Dixon (Pick up seat)
- AD 73 - Dr. Steven Choi (Defend seat)
- AD 74 - Laurie Davies (Defend seat)
- AD 76 - Kristie Bruce-Lane (Pick up seat)
**Already losing three seats due to redistricting - need to win all defense seats and at least three pick up seats to break even.
DeMaio and Reform California will also focus on a variety of local government races across California - with an announcement of specific target seats after local filing processes are completed in late summer.
Reform California will reach out to “swing voters” in target seats using its “Plain English” Voter Guide. Through an aggressive campaign of text messages, canvassing, digital ads, and volunteer outreach, the Reform California Voter Guide received more than 120,000 unique downloads statewide during the Primary. In addition Reform California made more than 1 million voter contacts in the Primary to boost turnout and unite voters in target races to prevent reform-minded candidates from being shutout of the November runoffs.
DeMaio is optimistic that 2022 will bring big wins even in the deep-blue state of California.
“Reform California will continue to lead the fight to help flip key seats, and these target races will take a lot of work — but together we can make gains,” said DeMaio. “Even blue-leaning voters are starting to wake up and see Democrats’ mismanagement of the state leading to high costs, increasing crime, and failing education and they want change,” he continued.
DeMaio and Reform California are encouraging Californians to join the campaign today to flip key seats in California’s November election.
Join the Fight: Flip Key Seats in 2022
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