House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that she expects more Democratic lawmakers to endorse specific candidates in crowded California primaries to prevent a lockout of Democratic candidates in the general election.
Democrats are worried they’ll be shut out in key races due to the state’s top-two primary system. Under that system, the two candidates with the most votes proceed to the general election, even if they are both in the same party.
Democrats have a record number of candidates running across Orange County in four red districts, and Pelosi said she expects more members of the California delegation to pick sides in the contests.
“In the California situation, the Democrats, our congressional delegation, may weigh in in some of the races to ensure we have somebody in the top,” she said Thursday. “They may be subjected to criticism for that but I’d rather be criticized for winning than criticized for losing.”
Pelosi lamented the top-two primary system in her home state, saying it “costs more money” and is “terrible.”
“We have so much enthusiasm this year, so many candidates running all over the country, that in a jungle primary if you have five Democrats and two Republicans you can end up with a result that ends up with a concentration there,” she said.
Democrats are eyeing seven seats in California that are critical to their chances of flipping the House in November. California’s primary is June 5.