CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
March 9, 2013 | By Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times
The day after Eric Garcetti won a spot in the May runoff for Los Angeles mayor, the city councilman turned his focus to African Americans in South Los Angeles, campaigning in Leimert Park with comedian D.L. Hughley. "In too many of our communities, especially communities of color, we still have way too much crime," Garcetti told the audience. "We still have too many gunshots, too few opportunities for our young people. " A day later, Garcetti rival Wendy Greuel, the city controller, announced that one of the city's premier black clergymen, Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray, was backing her. "Chip Murray has redefined what it means to be a faith leader in Los Angeles," she said of the former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
July 14, 2012 | By Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times
Less than a third of California's voters participated in the June primary election, the secretary of state's office said Friday, and the majority did so by mail. Turnout for the June 5 election was 5,328,296, or 31%, and 65% used mail-in ballots instead of voting at the polls on election day. Among the counties, turnout was lowest in Los Angeles County, where just 21.8% of voters cast ballots. It was highest in rural Sierra (59.2%), Alpine (58.6%) and Amador (57.1%) counties.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
June 3, 2012 | By Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times
California's new "top-two" primary election will be put to its first widespread test Tuesday, when state voters will be free to select candidates for Congress and the statehouse regardless of political party. The new primary sends the two candidates who receive the most votes to November's general election, opening the door for independent candidates and same-party slugfests. In past years, incumbents enjoyed a firm advantage. But Tuesday's election will have one of the largest batches of competitive races in decades for the Legislature and Congress.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 14, 2012 | By Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times
In the first broad test of California's new "top-two" election system, many candidates in heated races for Congress and the state Legislature have been campaigning earlier, spending more money and downplaying their party affiliation as they try to widen their appeal. Gone are the party primaries, except in the presidential race. Now all state candidates appear on a single ballot. Only those who come in first or second on June 5 will move on to the November general election, in which no write-in or other added candidates will be allowed.
NATIONAL
March 21, 2012 | By Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times
Mitt Romney's big win in the Illinois primary didn't end the fight for the Republican presidential nomination. But it may all but guarantee that after repeated slips and stumbles, including a fresh one hours after his victory, the former Massachusetts governor will lead the GOP into the fall contest against President Obama. Rick Santorum, Romney's chief antagonist, is not going away any time soon. He is almost certain to notch a few more victories, perhaps as early as Saturday in Louisiana, the kind of heavily rural, religious and deeply conservative state that has repeatedly backed the former Pennsylvania senator.
OPINION
October 27, 2011 | Doyle McManus
American voters have fired two modern presidents after just one term, Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992. Both suffered because the economy was in poor shape, and both faced disaffection within their own parties. But there was another thing those candidates had in common: They both faced relatively strong third-party candidates in the November election. John B. Anderson in 1980 and H. Ross Perot in 1992 both ran as independent centrists, and while they weren't the only reason the incumbents lost (Ronald Reagan won a majority of the popular vote in 1980)