The California 2024 Primary Ballot: President

First in a series of election expositions, aka guides.

If you’re honest, you already know who will win the presidential slots for California on March 5th. But it IS Super Tuesday, so if you wanna watch 1970’s style graphics on CNN, etcetera, there will lots of mini dramas to entertain you.

Vote anyway. It’s a political muscle that we don’t get enough chances to exercise. There is other stuff to be considered on the ballot. And besides, there’s plenty of factoids and snark below, so you should read this posting.

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Democrats will be sending a grand total of 496 delegates to Chicago in August. There are three flavors of delegates (plus alternates): 

• District Level

• At Large  

• Party Leaders and Elected Official (PLEO)

Delegate candidates for all levels must submit paperwork pledging their support to a candidate. How this works if there happens to be post-first round votes at the convention is too much information for me to convey at this time.

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Republicans are hosting an on-line cattle call to select 169 delegates and an equal number of alternates to represent California at the July convention in Milwaukee.

If you’re a registered Republican, sign up here: https://www.cagop.org/s/national-delegate-application-2024

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Primary Voting begins on February 6, either by mail or at the many drop boxes throughout the city and county. Polling places (aka Vote Centers) open starting February 24. More information

Voters who are registered with a political party may vote in their party’s presidential primary. The ballot received in the mail or picked up at a vote center will list only the party you are registered with presidential candidates. 

Don’t like those choices? You have the option of re-registering until February 20. (Conditional re-registrations can be accepted until March 5)

I’ve written some very short candidate reviews below, The web address next to their name will provide their point of view.

Democrats on the Ballot 

Marianne Williamson - https://marianne2024.com/
Nice lady, few supporters,

Dean Phillips - https://www.dean24.com/
Rich guy Congresscritter on a bad trip

Armando “Mando” Perez-Serrato (no website)
Lost 2022 Gubernatorial Primary to Gavin Newson (3.9 million votes to 45,474) 

Stephen P Lyons - https://lyons2024.com/
A reactionary Master Plumber and Fitter who failed second grade.

Eban Cambridge (no website)
Youngish Black dude from the Bay Area with a word salad of a platform.

Gabriel Cornejo - https://www.gabe2024.com/
Doesn’t even live in California. Offering all Americans $1000 monthly.

President R. Bodie - (no website)
God told him to run; a merger with Israel looks likely if elected.

Joseph R. Biden - https://joebiden.com/
We don’t agree on some things. But it’s not a deal breaker for me. As the meme on the interwebs says: A vote is not a valentine. You're not confessing your love for Joe Biden. It’s a chess move for the kind of world you want to live in.

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Republicans On the Ballot

David Stuckenberg - https://davidstuckenberg.com/
Acting director of strategic plans at HQ Texas Air National Guard; wonder where he’ll stand if Biden federalizes the national guard in Greg Abbott’s state.

Rachel Swift - (No website)
She’s not the politician of the same name from Australia. Probably not related to Taylor Swift.

Ron DeSantis - Dropped out; reportedly positioning himself to lose again in 2028

Vivek Ramaswamy - Dropped out, and not a moment too soon.

Nikki Haley - https://nikkihaley.com/
The former South Carolina Governor is the last person standing against Trump. Can she shape shift enough to stay in the race? Who knows?

Asa Hutchinson - Dropped out

Donald Trump - https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
The man “God” selected to turn this country away from democracy, bring back racial barriers, make sure women are barefoot and pregnant, send gays back into the closet, and play nice with dictators. 

Chris Christie - Dropped out.

Ryan L Binkley - https://binkley2024.com/meet-rlb/
Ryan Binkley is the only candidate still running against Trump in Nevada’s GOP caucus.

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American Independent Party Candidate

James Bradley - https://bradleysenate.com/
He’s on California’s Primary Ballot for Two Different Offices (also Senate) and Two Party Names (also Republican). He's been a perennial loser in elections in recent years.

Libertarian Party Candidate

Charles Ballay - https://www.ballay2024.com/
If this guy’s head was any rounder, you could play basketball with it.

Peace and Freedom Candidates

Claudia De La Cruz - https://votesocialist2024.com/
She’s on the ballot under P&F as a stand in for candidacy with The Party for Socialism and Liberation, which is, depending on who’s speaking, a Leninist, Marcycite Trotskyist, and or Opportunist Left party.

Cornel West - https://www.cornelwest2024.com/
He’s the highest profile third party candidate, largely due to an ongoing presence on news/cable channels looking for a wild-eyed lefty to fulfill their both-sides fantasies.

Jasmine Sherman - https://www.jasminesherman2024.com/
They’re on the P&F ballot as a stand-in for the Unicorn Party. And maybe the Green Party.

Green Party Candidate

Jill Stein - https://www.jillstein2024.com/
Vladimir Putin’s favorite third party candidate, who is also a physician.

Not on the Ballot

Unlike New Hampshire, California has serious requirements for presidential candidacies. So, a lot of the names you might have heard about last month won’t be included on primary ballots.

Robert F. Kennedy - https://www.kennedy24.com/
Started out running as a Democrat. He’s now conceded that he really isn’t ridin’ the donkey, and is running as an independent. Despite financial support from Trump supporters, his campaign is bleeding money at an unsustainable rate.

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California Elections and Policy Poll; survey taken Jan 21-29

Republican Primary

• Donald Trump 66%

• Nikki Haley 24%

• Ryan Binkley <1%

• David Stuckenberg <1%

• Don’t know 10%

Democratic Primary

• Joe Biden 78%

• Dean Phillips  6%

• Marianne Williamson 6%

• Don’t know 11%

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Well, that’s it for this edition of the voter guide. It takes a few days to collect all the post-it notes in my brain, so stay tuned. I’ll get around to more candidates and causes over the next couple of weeks.

Next Up: Proposition One