[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Assembly primaries resulted in Democrats sporting their strongest candidates in three districts they have their eye on. Here's the rundown on some key races.

AD 1 -- Sen. Wes Chesbro is hoping to move over from the Senate to the Assembly. He won his primary unopposed with twice as many votes as his Republican rival.

AD 5 -- Dan Leahy pulled a surprisingly strong 14,389 votes unopposed as a Democrat. Incumbent Republican Roger Niello tallied just 18,105 votes in a three way primary against two nobodies. This district has picked up substantial numbers of Democrats lately, and could be competitive if Leahy is funded and runs a strong grassroots race.

AD 8 -- In this battle of outside interests, labor proved its mettle with Supervisor Mariko Yamada topping West Sacramento Mayor Chris Cabaldon by just over 1,000 votes (17,009 vs. 15,961). Cabaldon had a strong field campaign and coffers filled by EdVoice, but the CTA-led coalition hammered away with massive mailings that focused on Cabaldon's failure to pay taxes on time and his car being booted in Sacramento. It appears to have done the trick.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]