Leno Steamrolls Migden: A Preview of 2008 State Senate Race?Randy Shawbyline‚ Jan. 16‚ 2007A 12-person slate committed to Assemblymember Mark Leno swept to a landslide victory on Sunday in the election of delegates to the California Democratic Party. The delegate election had become a proxy battle between Leno and State Senator Carole Migden, who are likely to square off against each other in the June 2008 Democratic State Senate primary. Each of Leno’s candidates won handily in the June 14 vote, while Migden became so convinced that defeat was inevitable that she abandoned her own chosen slate and skipped the event. Leno’s capacity to mobilize hundreds of people to come down to the State Building and vote in the middle of a holiday weekend was a powerful demonstration of his grassroots electoral strength. Migden has not faced a seriously contested election in over a decade, but now has an uphill fight for re-election. |