The intraparty battle between two Democrats vying for Rep. Katie Porter’s toss-up Orange County seat is rapidly emerging as one of the most vicious primary battles in California.
The latest salvo: an ad from state Sen. Dave Min accusing his rival, Joanna Weiss, of powering her campaign with money earned through the legal defense of sex offenders. The attack comes a week after Weiss released an ad slamming Min for his DUI arrest last year.
The volley of attack ads is the most public manifestation yet of a feud that has been playing out in Democratic circles for months. The two camps have been making their case to party bigwigs and activists that their rival’s baggage could compromise Democrats’ chances of holding on to a hard-fought swing seatthat could very well tip the balance of power in the House in November.
Now, those behind-the-scenes arguments are playing out on the airwaves, increasing the risk that either Democrat could emerge from the primary weakened against the likely Republican contender, Scott Baugh. Baugh, a former Republican lawmaker who came within 4 percentage points of Porter in the district in 2022, has consolidated much of the GOP establishment support and........