Cara Brown McCormick
Senate District 24
John Erickson (D) vs. Brian Goldsmith (D)
The fate of American socialism will not be settled in New York. It will be settled in districts like this one, roughly 3,000 miles west.
Democratic Socialists have become skilled at a specific task: winning closed Democratic primaries, contests decided by a narrow and energized slice of the party while everyone else watches from the outside.
California removes that advantage. The state does not hold closed elections. On June 2, every voter received the same ballot, and the two leading candidates advanced to the general election no matter what party they belonged to. In the bluest corners of the state, that occasionally leaves November voters choosing between two Democrats.
Senate District 24 is one of those places. Because no Republican qualified for the general, Republicans and independents on the Westside will pick between John Erickson, recommended by the DSA, and Brian Goldsmith, a moderate Democrat.
According to votercount.ai, 199,320 registered voters are neither Democratic nor Republican (out of 665,754 total — that's the Non-Partisan, American Independent, Libertarian, Green, Peace and Freedom, and other/unknown registrations combined).
The top two candidates were separated in the June 2 primary by just 2 points: Erickson at 21 percent and Goldsmith at 19 percent. Erickson ran third on election night and climbed to first as late ballots were counted.
The California Democratic Socialists of America recommended Erickson as the field's leading progressive.
Whether that recommendation helps or hurts Erickson depends on whether the 162,000 No Party Preference voters and other independents from the Westside of LA turn out to vote and pick a side.
Erickson, 40, a West Hollywood councilmember and former mayor who came to California from Wisconsin, spent his career at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, where he was a vice president, and at the Alliance for a Better Community. He is endorsed by the California Labor Federation, the Working Families Party, and the California Teachers Association. At the California Democratic Party's February endorsing convention, Erickson took just 8 percent.
Goldsmith has endorsements from voters across the political spectrum.
Goldsmith is a media consultant, journalist, and first-time candidate, raised more than $2 million (more than anyone else in the primary) and assembled a roster of national support from across the political spectrum that includes Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Pete Buttigieg, Antonio Villaraigosa, Rick Caruso, and Katie Couric, along with CAL FIRE Local 2881, ILWU, and the Teamsters.
Registered Democrats (326,289) outnumber Republicans (140,145) by more than 2 to 1 in this district.
Voters registered either No Party Preference or independent of the two major parties make up a solid 30 percent of voters in the general.
California Senate District 24 includes the cities of Agoura Hills, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, El Segundo, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Lomita, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Santa Monica, Torrance, West Hollywood, and Westlake Village, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Bel Air, Beverly Grove, Brentwood, Fairfax, Holmby Hills, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Little Holmby, Mid City West, Pacific Palisades, Playa del Rey, Sunset Hills, Venice, Westwood, Westwood Village, and the unincorporated Los Angeles County communities of Santa Monica Mountains and Marina Del Rey.
Affluent, heavily Democratic, and expensive to campaign in, the race to represent SD24 could be California's most costly legislative contest this year.