California's key primaries: Trump-backed John Cox outpaces Villaraigosa for governor, Feinstein takes top spot in Senate contest

Polls have closed in the pivotal primaries in California, the liberal stronghold where Democrats' hopes of retaking Congress in November and mounting a national challenge to President Trump's agenda hang in the balance.
In early results, Fox News projects that Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom will move on to the November election in the state's gubernatorial race, taking the top spot in the jungle primary. Newsom will face Republican businessman John Cox, who surged late in the campaign with the support of President Trump to finish second.
The result is disappointing for Democratic former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was widely considered the most viable potential challenger to Newsom in November's general election in the extremely liberal state.
But Cox's strong finish over Villaraigosa, a Democratic institution in Southern California, was something of a win for President Trump, who enthusiastically backed Cox over another Republican contender.
Trump said in a May tweet that Cox will "Make California Great Again," rallying the state's conservative base around the businessman and saying he could solve California's "high crime, high tax problems."
"This is only the first step to turning around this state and taking back California for all Californians," Cox told supporters in San Diego.
Fox News also projects that Sen. Dianne Feinstein will place first in the state's jungle primary -- a widely expected result. She will likely face ultra-progressive State Sen. Kevin de Leon in November, who delivered remarks early Wednesday strongly suggesting that he will be the runner-up.

"This is only the first step to turning around this state and taking back California for all Californians."

The state's key House races, though, are still too close to call, but the Fox News Decision Desk will make those calls as ballots are counted. The winners and losers in California's most competitive races could take days to sort out given the state's unique election laws.
There were some results in from the House races early Wednesday. Republican Rep. Mimi Walters easily advanced to the November election in her Orange County district that has been targeted by Democrats. The second spot remained up for grabs.
And to the north, House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican, qualified for the general election ballot as well. Nunes is a polarizing figure in national politics given his support for Trump in one of the many investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Democrats need to flip 23 Republican-controlled to retake the House from the GOP in November. Out of California's 53 House seats, Republicans hold 14 -- and seven of those GOP-held districts backed Hillary Clinton in 2016.
That makes the Golden State center stage for what Democrats are hoping is a major anti-Trump wave in November.
In several races, either Republicans or Democrats face the very real prospect of being denied a place on the ballot in the general election.
That's because of California's nonpartisan, open "jungle primary" system, which advances the top two vote-getting candidates to the general election -- regardless of their party affiliation.
The risk is particularly high for Democrats, who are riding a wave of anti-Trump enthusiasm in California. So many Democrats are running in three of the House races that they might split the vote to such an extent that two Republicans end up with the most ballots.
That result would lock Democrats out of competing in the general election in some of the most vulnerable Republican districts, a kind of embarrassing political "own goal" that would highlight the quirks and perils of California's unique primary procedure.
Seven other states held primaries on Tuesday, including New Jersey, Alabama, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa and Montana. Click here for results from those key races.

Calif. gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom is projected to finish in one of the top spots in the state's jungle primary.  (AP)

More on California's closest races:
The governor's race
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a liberal establishment Democrat who previously served as mayor of San Francisco, will win one of the two spots in the jungle primary and therefore will advance to the November ballot, Fox News can project.
But the intrigue in the race centered on who will take the number two spot. Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Republican businessman John Cox, who surged late after an endorsement from President Trump, were locked in a close battle for second place.
Newsom is essentially assured victory in November's statewide contest, given California's overwhelmingly liberal electorate.
Some Democrats cried foul earlier this month after Newsom ran ads that reminded voters of Cox's connections with Trump and the NRA, saying the frontrunner was implicitly trying to rally conservatives to the polls to ensure Cox beat Villaraigosa for the second spot on the ballot.
The House races
One of the most hotly contested races is in the 48th Congressional District, which includes Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Hillary Clinton narrowly won the district in 2016. Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who has held the safe seat without serious challenge for decades, faces eight Democrats and fierce competition from GOP rival Scott Baugh.
So many Democrats are running for the seat that none may end up getting the votes needed to appear on the ballot in November.
A similar situation might play out in California's 49th District, where a broad array of candidates is vying for the seat vacated by retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa. Eight Republican candidates are in the running, along with four Democrats who are neck-and-neck. The sheer number of entrants in the race could lock out either the GOP or the Democrats in November. Hillary Clinton also won here in 2016, by a margin of a little over seven points.
Another closely watched race is the effort by four Democrats to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in the 45th District in Orange County, which no Democrat has ever represented but that also supported Clinton in 2016. Walters voted to repeal ObamaCare, which has become a hot-button issue in the increasingly liberal district. On Tuesday, Walters easily advanced to the November election. The second spot remains up for grabs.
Important GOP-held seats with incumbents facing challenges are the 50th District, where Rep. Duncan Hunter is under investigation for misuse of campaign funds; the 10th District held by Rep. Jeff Denham; the 21st District, where Hillary Clinton won convincingly, that is currently occupied by David Valadao; and the 25th District, where Rep. Steve Knight is facing several challengers.

Incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein cruised to victory in Tuesday's California primary, taking the top spot.  (AP)

Ed Royce, who was first elected to Congress in 1992 and chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced his retirement earlier this year. He will vacate his 39th District seat, and several Republican and Democratic candidates are competing to replace him. That setup, again, raises the possibility of one party being knocked entirely out of the November contest.
The Senate race
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., will place first in the jungle primary, Fox News projects, even though the California Democratic Party pointedly declined to endorse her in February.
The majority of the votes from delegates at the party's annual convention went to State Sen. Kevin de Leon, Feinstein's progressive challenger who served as the former president pro tempore of the California Senate. Republican James P. Bradley, another hopeful in the primary, is not expected to make it to November's contest.
At 84 years old, Feinstein is the oldest senator in the U.S., and California's increasingly liberal demographics raised concerns during the campaign that even Feinstein may be too moderate for the state's new progressive wing. But her strong party backing, financial position and name recognition have offset those potential stumbling blocks.
In remarks early Wednesday, Kevin de Leon didn't claim the second-place spot, but strongly suggested he'll be facing Feinstein in November.
"A majority of Californians want new leadership in Washington,' he said. "In November, voters will have the opportunity to send a message to Washington, and around the world that the system is broken, the status quo is failing, and the future is now."

Chuck Schumer Cartoons

Doug Schoen: The Democrats are at war -- with each other. And it could spell disaster in November

Eight states – Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota – will hold primaries Tuesday to pick candidates to run in the midterm general elections Nov. 6. But before turning our attention to those races, it’s useful to look back at primary results in May and see how they reveal a Democratic party in a deep state of division.
Voters in Democratic primaries are split between staunchly progressive and more moderate factions. In the struggle for leadership of the party, supporters of each faction are potentially fatally weakening the Democrats for November contests, and potentially for the 2020 elections as well. That could pave the way for President Trump to be re-elected.
There has been a dramatic change in the generic polling for Congress. Republicans now lead Democrats by 1 point, according to Reuters. Moreover, there has been a dramatic improvement in President Trump’s approval rating, with the Real Clear Average now up to 44 percent.

The Democrats must advance an agenda that is explicitly different from what party leaders are currently articulating and focus on long-term objectives to create a society of opportunity for all – not guaranteed outcomes achieved through wealth redistribution.

The reason why this is happening is because Democrats lack an agenda. The party, deeply split between its progressive and moderate wings, is divided on both message and tactics. This puts the party at risk not only at the ballot box, but in Republican-controlled state legislatures and governor’s offices throughout the country, with redistricting occurring after the 2020 census.
To be sure, the Democrats’ losses in 2010 doomed their chances this past decade. Republican majorities throughout the country continue to benefit President Trump as he prepares for 2020, when he has said he will run for re-election.
The lack of consensus between the two factions of the Democratic Party is clear, unambiguous and startling.
The progressive agenda focuses primarily on resisting President Trump at every step, labeling his every action a scandal, and calling for his impeachment without any vetted or verifiable evidence of wrongdoing. Progressives also advocate a redistribution of wealth without any long-term plan to fund policies such as Medicare-for-All or guaranteed employment.
The moderates offer a distinctly different worldview. They offer a plan for inclusive economic growth and an alternative set of policies to resolve the issues surrounding immigration and health care. At the same time, they reject party-line loyalty to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and calls for President Trump’s impeachment.
These positions allow the moderates to most effectively and persuasively articulate differences with the president, as well as find potential compromises with him.
One moderate Democrat, Rep. Conor Lamb, won a highly consequential special election in southwestern Pennsylvania’s 18^th District earlier this year by explicitly rejecting Nancy Pelosi’s announced bid for re-election as Democratic leader and calling for new leadership in Congress.
Lamb, however, remains in the distinct minority among a set of far-left candidates who are in ascendancy at the gubernatorial and congressional levels.

It would be a fundamental mistake for Democrats to pursue impeachment without evidence, based only on Russia’s broader election meddling scheme, which is now clear and unambiguous.

Even in Texas and Kentucky, where moderates emerged victorious, a solid third or more of the Democratic electorate remains committed to progressive causes and candidates.
In order to preserve the party’s chances in 2018 and capture a House majority last achieved in 2010, Democrats must adopt an explicitly moderate agenda.
When looking at the electorate, there is no evidence that formerly working-class Democrats who defected to President Trump in 2016 – or simply didn’t turn out for Hillary Clinton – will respond to a nearly socialist message from Democrats or to increasingly vitriolic attacks on the president.
Indeed, a set of April 2018 Remington Research Group surveys of voters in Iowa’s 1^st District, Wisconsin’s 3^rd District and Minnesota’s 8th District found that solid majorities of more than 60 percent in each district who previously voted for President Obama and defected to Donald Trump continue to support the Republican president.
The reason these voters see no incentive to return to the Democratic Party is because the leadership lacks a plan to effectively counter President Trump's initial success on economic revitalization by reducing taxes and cutting regulations. The stock market has made gains and unemployment has fallen below 4 percent for the first time since 2000.
Further, average U.S. household income recently reached a 50-year high. And much to the Democrats’ chagrin, the latest CBS/YouGov poll finds that 68 percent of the public credits President Trump for their personal economic success.
Given these circumstances, the Democrats must advance an agenda that is explicitly different from what party leaders are currently articulating and focus on long-term objectives to create a society of opportunity for all – not guaranteed outcomes achieved through wealth redistribution. This new agenda is needed to win back Obama voters who defected to Trump, especially working-class Midwestern voters.
In terms of specific issues, Democrats must recognize that increasing economic opportunities – particularly through vocational education and job training, with a focus on working Americans – is the key to winning.
Accordingly, Democrats should advocate for investment in our nation’s crumbling infrastructure as a central part of cultivating economic growth and job creation.
Democrats would also do well by working to take the issue of immigration off the table. According to a Harvard/Harris poll, 77 percent of Americans support legalization for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children by their parents. And 54 percent of Americans support a combination of physical and electronic barriers across the U.S.-Mexico border. Some 60 percent believe current border security measures are inadequate.
The Democratic leadership can and should achieve a compromise with President Trump and the Republicans on providing necessary funding to secure the Southern border and also create a pathway to citizenship for individuals who illegally entered the United States through no fault of their own, and since that time have contributed greatly to the American economy and our society.
On health care, with the repeal of the individual mandate and persistent attacks from Republicans on President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), the key now is to expand coverage that is affordable, given that premiums continue to increase in jurisdictions nationwide.
By working with Republicans to enact fixes to the Affordable Care Act, rather than chasing an unfunded Medicare-for-All system, the Democrats can protect President Obama’s legacy, ensure Americans do not lose affordable coverage, and make sure they can obtain it.
Regarding potential impeachment of President Trump, the Democrats must only pursue this possibility if or when Special Counselor Robert Mueller produces a vetted report that indicates that there was direct and substantial collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, or an associated conspiracy charge.
It would be a fundamental mistake for Democrats to pursue impeachment without evidence, based only on Russia’s broader election meddling scheme, which is now clear and unambiguous.
If Democrats don’t want to squander their first real opportunity at controlling the House since 2010 – and likely their best shot for the foreseeable future – they must deliver a change in leadership, a change in policies, and a movement back to the moderate, inclusive message that won them control of government in the 1990s and the early 2000s.
Taking this path will do more than carry Democrats to victory in November. It will position the party for success in 2020 – after which redistricting decisions will be made nationwide – and beyond.

Douglas E. Schoen is a Fox News contributor. He has more than 30 years experience as a pollster and political consultant. His new book is "Putin's Master Plan". Follow him on Twitter @DouglasESchoen.

Melania Trump skipping G7, North Korea summits

WASHINGTON –  First lady Melania Trump will not join her husband at the G7 summit in Quebec later this week and there are "no plans" for her to travel to Singapore to meet with North Korea's leader later this month, a spokeswoman told Fox News late Sunday.
Mrs. Trump stayed behind Friday when President Donald Trump, and family-- including his daughters, eldest son and son-in-law-- went to the Camp David retreat for the weekend.
She hasn't made a public appearance since before her five-day hospital stay in mid-May for treatment of a kidney condition the White House only described as benign.
Mrs. Trump took to Twitter last week to dispel rumors circulating about her whereabouts.
"I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I'm doing," she tweeted on May 30. "Rest assured, I'm here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!"
Stephanie Grisham, her spokeswoman, said earlier that the first lady has been meeting with staff and working on projects. Mrs. Trump is scheduled to join the president Monday in hosting a reception, closed to the press, for Gold Star families.
"She will not attend the G7 and there are no plans for her to travel to Singapore at this time," Grisham said.
The G7 summit will be held in Quebec on Friday and Saturday. The president plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore, the first leaders' summit between two countries that are still formally at war.

Kansas gubernatorial hopeful calls out 'snowflake meltdown' after riding jeep with replica gun at parade

Republican Kansas governor hopeful Kris Kobach pictured with the jeep mounted with a replica of a gun that sparked the outrage.  (Twitter)

Republican Kansas governor hopeful Kris Kobach said he won’t “back down in the face of a snowflake meltdown and outrage culture” after being criticized for riding in a jeep mounted with a replica of a large gun at a parade on Saturday.
Koback, the state’s secretary of state, raised eyebrows on social media over the weekend after he attended the Old Shawnee Days parade, named after the Kansas City-suburb.
“Had a blast riding in the Old Shawnee Days Parade in this souped up jeep with a replica gun,” he tweeted. “Those who want to restrict the right to keep and bear arms are deeply misguided. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
But many criticized the politician for riding a vehicle equipped with a large replica gun at the event attended by young children.
Pastor Johnny Lewis of Shawnee Community Christian Church criticized the candidate in a Facebook post, saying his six-year-old child “worries constantly about school shootings.”
“Why was that necessary, sir? My child didn’t need that today. Don’t care what your position is on second amendment that is completely unnecessary,” he said.

Kobach's vehicle for the parade equipped with a replica of a gun.  (Twitter)

Lewis also told the Kansas City Star that his concern wasn’t about Kobach’s support for gun rights, but rather about the potential upset he caused to young children who came to watch the parade.
“My greatest concern today was not Kris Kobach’s political position… It was that in a world where our children… live with anxiety about school shootings and do intruder drills regularly that any politician thought it was OK to drive through a crowd of children with an automatic weapon pointed at the crowd,” the pastor said.
Despite the backlash, Kobach remained defiant.
“The outrage over the replica gun on the back of a patriotic jeep is the left trying to attack guns and your #2A rights. I will not back down in the face of a snowflake meltdown and outrage culture,” he tweeted.
The city of Shawnee has since issued an apology for having Kobach to attend the event and causing upset over the display of a large replica gun.
"Please know that the safety of our residents is always our highest priority and we apologize if this made anyone feel unsafe or unsettled. We will be taking steps in the future to try to ensure something similar does not happen again,” the statement said.

Portland sees bloody fighting as Antifa activists storm Patriot Prayer rally

Violence broke out in downtown Portland, Oregon, on Sunday as Antifa activists stormed a Patriot Prayer rally. Police tweeted that "Weapons have been confiscated from protesters" and "Fireworks and bottles have been thrown at officers and participants."  (Portland Police/AP Photo)

Violence broke out in downtown Portland, Oregon, on Sunday as Antifa activists stormed a Patriot Prayer rally — about a year after similar dueling rallies triggered bloody fights and arrests.
Some protesters on Sunday hurled bottles and fireworks at police officers while others were caught with knives and other weapons, Portland Police tweeted. Officials encouraged people to get out of the immediate area "for their safety."
Many of the Antifa activists wore black and covered their faces. Some protesters said they were demonstrating against police brutality; one sign bluntly read "F--- the police."
Patriot Prayer, which bills itself as a peaceful First Amendment advocacy group, organized a rally — "Tiny's Freedom March," a going-away event for Tusitala John Toese, who's close with group leader Joey Gibson — for 5 p.m.
The Rose City Antifa scheduled a counter-protest for 4 p.m. "to show Patriot Prayer, just as we showed them last year, that their violence and hatred has no place in Portland."
The demonstrations came a year after the same two groups converged in downtown Portland for opposing rallies, KOIN reported. Last year's protests resulted in 14 arrests.
Police said Sunday that while the city respects "the right to assemble," anyone with weapons or anyone involved in violent activities was subject to arrest.
It was not immediately clear if Sunday's demonstrations downtown resulted in any arrests, but photos and videos posted to social media showed protesters fighting and clashing, while some apparently were doused with pepper spray.

Democrat Swamp Cartoons

Republican blasts 'unethical tricks from the swamp,' rejects Dems' donations

A little-known Republican congressional candidate in Southern California has received $137,000 in campaign donations from Democrats from across the U.S. ahead of Tuesday's primary.
But John Gabbard -- a small business owner and Marine Corps veteran -- rejected the Democrats' help Friday, accusing the party of “bringing its classic unethical tricks from the swamp in Washington to the shores of Orange County.”
The Dems' backing of the GOP's Gabbard in California's 48th Congressional District seems to be part of an unorthodox strategy --- not to help Gabbard, but to ultimately help the Dems get one of their own candidates to emerge from Tuesday's primary and appear on the November ballot.
It's part of some $5.4 million that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent on congressional races in Orange County in recent weeks, the Orange County Register reported.
Under California primary rules, the top two vote-getters Tuesday, regardless of party, will face each other in November. So if two Republicans top the field, the Democrats would be shut out of the general election.
That GOP shutout is likely to happen in the 48th District, because two of the candidates are well-known former Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh and incumbent U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, the Register reported.

"The [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] machine is bringing its classic unethical tricks from the swamp in Washington to the shores of Orange County."

John Gabbard, a GOP congressional candidate, is a small business owner and Marine Corps veteran.  (Facebook)

So the Democrats' best hope of getting one of their own -- either businessman Harley Rouda or stem-cell biologist Hans Keirstead -- to finish in the top two may be to back Gabbard, and hope he siphons enough votes away from Baugh or Roherabacher to eliminate one of them and help a Democrat advance.
Robocalls and radio ads funded by Democratic organizations have lavished praise on Gabbard’s wartime service, touting him as a man who has “traveled the world keeping America safe” and who “evacuated hundreds of Americans threatened during an African coup.”
At least one politcal watcher says Democrats are making a big mistake with their opposite-party financing.

"That's the kind of game plan that really turns voters off. That money would be so much better spent just on get-out-the-vote efforts."
- Jodi Balma, political science professor, Fullerton College

"That's the kind of game plan that really turns voters off," Jodi Balma, a political science professor at Fullerton College, told the Register. "That money would be so much better spent just on get-out-the-vote efforts."
Will the Democrats' plan work? Orange County voters will find out next week.