It has been roughly half a century since California primaries were very compelling. For four presidential elections starting in 1996, we tried early primaries in an effort to be a player, not merely a spectator in the nosebleed seats. In three previous stabs at influence, the presidential and state primaries for legislative and congressional seats were combined in March. Incumbents would benefit from early primaries because there’d be less time for their challengers to raise money and get known. Rep. Adam Schiff pulled no punches in his opening statement at a recent House Intelligence Committee hearing on possible collusion between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 13, 2017 07:05 UTC