It’s been a tough campaign for the two Republican candidates vying for position in Tuesday’s primary election race for the vacant 54th California Assembly seat. But the battle between Gabriella Holt and Michael A. Jackson has been hard-fought, and may come down to the wire on Tuesday night.
In a heavily Democratic district, much of the public’s attention has been on the highly visible race between Dem. candidates Bonnie Lowenthal and Tonia Reyes Uranga. It certainly adds fuel to the fire that most of the 54th contains Long Beach, where Lowenthal serves as Vice-Mayor and Reyes Uranga on the City Council.
But voters should be paying just as much attention to the Republican race, because whichever Democrat emerges will have to contend fiercely with either Holt or Jackson in the November general election. Both have run strong campaigns and performed well in public debates, though Holt cancelled her appearance in the final candidate debate. Jackson has had difficulties of his own, drawing the ire of his party for continuing his campaign after Holt received the Republican nomination.
Jackson has shown no signs of backing down, marching towards Tuesday’s primary election despite the wishes of the party and criticizing Holt, alleging in an earlier debate that she had renewed her nursing and teaching licenses only to include them in her campaign, and was not practicing either. Holt denied the claim and stressed her years of work experience in both fields.
Jackson’s main professional experience has been his work as an aerospace engineer, a trade that he says makes him better equipped to handle large-scale projects and government spending issues. Holt has also stressed government spending as a major issue that she is well-equipped to handle, with plans to curb medical fraud practices to the tune of $3 billion in total yearly savings for California.
Holt boasts an impressive list of distinguished endorsements and will hope to ride their support and her experience in health and education to victories in both the primary and general elections. Without the big names, Jackson grassroots campaign has been driven by promises to hold his fellow elected officials accountable for their actions and “restore sanity to our state budget,” as his website says.
Which candidate will get the chance to campaign towards November?
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor