Three former Obama aides advance in California primaries
Three candidates who formerly worked for President Obama advanced in California’s primary election Tuesday.
Obama administration alumni rallied to help their former colleagues in a number of races across the country. Seven such candidates were on the California ballot. Three prevailed.
Democratic fundraiser Eleni Kounalakis, who served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary, finished first in the contest for lieutenant governor with 23% of the vote. Bay Area attorney Jeff Bleich, who was the U.S. ambassador to Australia, was fourth with 9% pending the final count of mail-in ballots and won’t advance to the November general election.
In the crowded 15th Assembly District, former Obama aide Buffy Wicks finished in first place with 31%. She earned more than twice the votes of the candidates vying for the second spot on the November ballot: Oakland City Councilman Dan Kalb and Richmond Councilwoman Jovanka Beckles.
Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former White House intern who later worked at the Labor Department, secured a top-two finish in the 50th Congressional District. He will face Rep. Duncan Hunter, who won 49% of the votes compared with Campa-Najjar's 16%.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-may-2018-three-former-obama-aides-win-primaries-1528384153-htmlstory.html
