[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The endorsement yesterday by popular Marin and Sonoma County Member of Congress Lynn Woolsey of San Francisco Assemblymember Mark Leno for the Third Senate seat speaks volumes of where the race now stands and what it means. In fact, it may be the deciding factor in this three way primary contest.

In giving Leno her support, Woolsey, an eight term Congressmember, cited Leno’s commitment to issues that matter most in the North Bay part of the district: "Mark Leno has built a strong record on behalf of the issues the people of my district care deeply about. I am proud to announce my support for him today. We can count on Mark to go to Sacramento and provide progressive leadership on the issues we all care about—a cleaner and more sustainable environment, universal, single-payer health care, better schools and access to affordable higher education."

In the 3rd Senate District Democratic primary, Leno faces incumbent Carole Migden and former Assemblyman Joe Nation. The district includes all of Marin County, southern Sonoma County, and the eastern portion of San Francisco. In the June primary a plurality rules. This is the election. The results will determine who holds this seat for at least the next four years as this is a heavily Democratic district.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Cutting out the gas tax may actually backfire on consumers, warns the San Diego Union-Tribune.The article also has a brief Q&A explanation of the current highgas prices.

The large number of recalled consumer products last year has prompted Bay Area legislators to push for better regulation. Sen. Carole Migden (D-SF) has introduced the "Toxin-free Toddlers andBabies Act," which would ban bisphenol A from toys and child-careproducts. Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) wants to ban agrease-resistant compound found in pizza boxes that can be carcinogenicwhen ingested.

At least someone's happy about the drawn-out Democratic race: Rush Limbaugh, whose calls to Republicans to side with underdog Clinton may have beensuccessful. "Nobody really knows, of course, how influential Limbaughhas actually been, although the promotional publicity for him and hisprogram has been absolutely priceless. Anecdotal evidence suggests manythousands of Republicans did, in fact, cross over to vote for Clinton,which, frankly, is fine with her. She'll take anybody's vote thesedays."

There's more... 

Image courtesy LATimes.com  

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Assemblymember Mark Leno has had a good week on the endorsement front, winning this week's battle for backing from the activist left, the sure-fire voters that may well decide this tight State Senate between him, incumbent Sen. Carole Migden, and former Assemblymember Joe Nation in the state's most liberal senate district.

DemocracyForAmerica.com, the nation's largest progressive political action organization, announced that it has endorsed Mark Leno's campaign for the California State Senate. "Mark Leno is a phenomenal candidate and a true champion of the grassroots. Democracy for America is proud to endorse his campaign," said Jim Dean, Chair of DFA. "Mark Leno has a long record as an effective and dynamic progressive."

DFA doesn't have a whole lot of members in California, but it does have an aggressive national netroots network. That's likely to help Leno down the final stretch of the campaign with much-needed cash.

There's more...

by Be_Devine [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

In an admittedly unscientific online poll at the Marin Independent Journal's website, Mark Leno is leading Joe Nation by a wide margin.  Leno has 66.7 percent of the vote to Nation's 27.5 percent.  

In the "is she really still here?" category, Carole Migden registers a whopping 5.8 percent.  

Cast your vote and see the latest numbers here.

I am fairly certain that it was the money we raised for Leno during last week's Calitics Challenge that gave him the "Calitics Bump."  Keep contributing  to his campaign here. 

by Be_Devine [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

If you read Spots or have ever had the opportunity to see me fail in trying to start a chant, you know I have a big mouth.

So here's your chance to make me put my money where my mouth is.

I am going to match, up to $500, the contributions made to Mark Leno's campaign through the Calitics Act Blue page through midnight Friday night.

See why on the flip, and donate right here:

Although Migden has imploded, she continues to play the spoiler role in this race. It's now a two-person race. In one corner we have Mark Leno, a champion of some of the most progressive legislation in California. In the other corner we have Joe Nation, who is one step away from being a Republican. SD-03 is a solidly Progressive district that would be best represented by Mark Leno. But Migden's refusal to drop out of a race that she cannot win creates the very serious risk that Nation could win.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]