05/15/2026
In My View by Kevin Hendrick Jungle Primary
Published in Del Norte Triplicate 5/7/26
Last week I wrote about the Governor’s race and the jungle primary, where the top two, regardless of party, advance to the November election. This week, I will comment on the remaining contests.
By now you should have received your real ballot, but I recommend you keep your sample ballot to use as a work sheet to help narrow down your choices.
If you live in District 3 or 4, you can vote for a County Supervisor. In District 4 there are three candidates, Lisa Cundall, Joey Borges and Margaret Sargent. This will likely be decided in the Primary. In District 3 there are two candidates, Lupe Gutierrez and Chris Howard. One will win on June 2.
I recently attended a Meet the Candidate event with Gutierrez and Howard. It was very informative.
There are a few statewide races that I have not yet addressed. The California Democratic Party (CADEM) endorses Shirley Weber for Secretary of State, Rob Bonta for Attorney General, Malia Cohen for Controller, and Sally Lieber for Board of Equalization.
CADEM also endorses Jared Huffman for Congress, Chris Rogers for Assembly and Damon Connelly for State Senate. Huffman has challengers but will be in top two. There are only two Assembly candidates, so they will both make the top two. Connelly will likely win in November to replace Senator McGuire.
There are other Statewide races for which CADEM did not endorse. Following are my personal opinions and do not represent the Democratic Party. I will suggest to you my top two in each but I encourage you to learn more about these candidates before you pick one.
My top two candidates for Lieutenant Governor are Fiona Ma and Josh Fryday. Fiona Ma is endorsed by Eleni Kounalakis and Malia Cohen. Fryday is endorsed by Barbara Boxer and Jared Huffman. I respect all these endorsements, and both candidates have the experience to do this job.
Eleni Kounalakis and Anna Cabellero are both good options for State Treasurer. Caballero is a State Senator from the Central Valley. Kounalakis is our current Lieutenant Governor. Eleni came to Del Norte County when she first ran, and I give her permanent bonus points for caring enough to visit.
Superintendent of Public Instruction has two candidates that are worth considering, Al Muratsuchi is an Assembly member from the LA area. Nichelle Henderson has spent more than two decades in education.
I am partial to the idea that teaching experience would be relevant for this position.
For Insurance Commissioner, we have State Senator Ben Allen and Patrick Wolff. Allen has experience with insurance related to the 2025 Palisades Fire which was in his district. Wolff is a financial analyst with years of insurance experience. They both seem qualified.
There are a lot of candidates on your ballot. I hope that this may help you decide. Remember that you do not have to check every box for your ballot to be counted. You can skip some if you want.
Please don’t wait to vote! Mail your ballot by May 22 or drop it off at the County Elections Office at 981 H Street before 8pm June 2. If you have questions about voting, call the Elections office (707) 464-7216.
