Days before California's primary election, polling and ballot data point to a sharp drop in Democratic voter engagement. Left-leaning voters appear unenthusiastic about a field of roughly 60 candidates running to succeed termed-out Governor Gavin Newsom.
According to a CNN network analysis, mail-in ballot returns are running behind historical norms. Democratic data trackers report that only 10 percent of the state's 23 million registered voters have returned their ballots, with older progressive constituencies returning ballots at lower-than-usual rates.
Voters surveyed by CNN expressed disappointment with leading choices, including billionaire Tom Steyer and former federal official Xavier Becerra. Under California's "top-two" primary system, all candidates appear on one ballot. Because the progressive vote is split among six high-profile Democrats, party operatives fear two Republicans, conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, could lock Democrats out of the November general election.
