The mid-term elections on November 6 announce a classic referendum on Donald Trump's presidency, and California is one of the main battlegrounds as Democrats attempt to take control of the House. .
The party that assumes the presidency normally plays the defense during a mid-term vote. But Trump's unpopularity leads to an extraordinary rise in voter hostility towards Republicans.
The Democratic candidates here are gathering huge sums of money, mainly motivated by the increased enthusiasm of left-wing donors and helped by ActBlue, the online fundraising platform for progressive candidates.
This is particularly pronounced in California, where GDP is sharply lower after more than two decades of decline caused by political and demographic changes.
25th district of Congress
Katie Hill is meeting with a sympathizer during a meeting and rally at William J. McAdam Park in Palmdale. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Representative Steve Knight during a debate with Hill at the performing arts center of Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rep. Steve Knight shakes hands with Simi Valley advisor Mike Judge in the center during a campaign stop at Simi Valley. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) Candidate Katie Hill at a debate with Rep.Knight at the performing arts center of Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Clockwise from the top left; Katie Hill meets with a sympathizer during a meeting and rally at William J. McAdam Park in Palmdale; Representative Steve Knight at a debate with Hill at the performing arts center of Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley; Rep. Steve Knight shakes hands with Simi Valley advisor Mike Judge in the center during a campaign stop at Simi Valley. (Irfan Khan / Brian van der Brug / Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)
Representative Steve Knight is a former legislator and councilman in Palmdale who worked for 18 years as a police officer in Los Angeles before running for office. A veteran of the US military, who almost always votes for the party, he has been strongly supported by the major military and law enforcement communities of the district.
Candidate Katie Hill is a former leader of PATH, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles that provides homelessness services. She describes herself as a "pragmatic progressor", emphasizing her support for border security, reducing the cost of prescription drugs and further tax cuts for the middle class.
39th arrondissement of the Congress
Young Kim, a GOP candidate, is campaigning with governor candidate John Cox at Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) The Democratic candidate Gil Cisneros travels through the neighborhoods of Rowland Heights, an enclave with an Asian majority with a large population of Chinese-Americans. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times)
Democratic candidate Gil Cisneros meets with reporters at a political rally in Cal State Fullerton. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Young Kim, a GOP candidate, meets supporters in her new campaign office in Rowland Heights. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Clockwise from the top left; Young Kim, a GOP candidate, is campaigning with governor candidate John Cox at Rowland Heights; Democratic candidate Gil Cisneros visited the neighborhoods of Rowland Heights, an enclave with an Asian majority and a large population of Sino-Americans. Kim meets supporters at his new campaign office in Rowland Heights; Cisneros talks with reporters at a political rally in Cal State Fullerton. (Irfan Khan / Brian van der Brug / Patrick T. Fallon / Los Angeles Times)
Young Kim, a GOP candidate and South Korean immigrant with extensive political experience, presents himself in a district where more than one-third of the residents are immigrants and about one-fifth of the registered voters are Americans. Asian origin. She worked for Royce for two decades before being elected to the state assembly in 2014. She was overthrown in 2016 by the same democrat she had defeated before.
Democratic candidate Gil Cisneros was a director at Frito-Lay when he and his wife won a $ 266 million lottery jackpot in 2010. Since then, the couple has become well known in Democratic circles for its philanthropy related to 39 education, including the funding of a news bureau that bears their name at the USC Annenberg press room.
45th district of Congress
A week before the election, candidate Katie Porter, in the middle, is campaigning with the double Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan at the UCI. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Rep. Miimi Waters speaks to supporters of the "Yes on Prop 6" rally in front of her campaign headquarters in Newport Beach. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Representative Mimi Walters with volunteers working on the phone at the campaign office in Newport Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Candidate Katie Porter voted for the 2018 mid-term elections at the UCI advance voting center. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Clockwise from the top left; A week before the election, candidate Katie Porter, in the middle, campaigns with the double Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan at the UCI; Representative Mimi Waters addresses supporters of the "Yes on Prop 6" rally in front of her campaign headquarters in Newport Beach; Porter voted for the 2018 mid-term elections at the UCI advance voting center; Walters with volunteers working on the phone at the campaign office in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Gina Ferazzi / Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A former state legislator and city councilor in Laguna Niguel, representative Mimi Walters has long opted for a business-friendly anti-tax platform. Previously, she worked as a securities dealer and owned a business with her husband that provided medical staff in California jails. A resident of Laguna Niguel, Walters is one of many members of the California Congress who do not live in the districts they represent.
Katie Porter, a professor of law at the University of Irvine, is testing the limits of progressivism in this district in political transition. She supports single payer healthcare and masquerading as a consumer rights advocate who has stood up to the big banks while overseeing California's distribution in foreclosure regulations national mortgage. She criticized the 2017 tax plan and called for a reform that would cut taxes for the middle class but not for businesses. Porter broke with his party to oppose the increase in the California tax on gasoline.
48th District of Congress
Representative Dana Rohrabacher speaks to supporters at a thank-you event for campaign volunteers, her headquarters of the operations group at Costa Mesa (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Candidate Harley Rouda speaks at a rally "Vote for our life" at the UCI. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, on the right, shows his classic pose by introducing Democratic candidate Harley Rouda to a retired party, the Rohrabacher Party, at the Rouda campaign office in Costa Mesa. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Representative Dana Rohrabacher, on the right, welcomes supporters of the left, Krista Weigand, her son, her husband, Eric Weigand, and her daughter, Anne, at a thank-you ceremony for campaign volunteers. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Clockwise from the top left; Representative Dana Rohrabacher speaks to supporters at a thank-you event for campaign volunteers, her operations group headquarters at Costa Mesa the candidate Harley Rouda expresses it during a "Vote for our life" rally at the UCI; Rohrabacher, right, greets left wing supporters, Krista Weigand, his son, Miles, husband Eric Weigand and his daughter Anne, at a thank-you ceremony for campaign volunteers; Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, on the right, shows his classic pose by introducing Democratic candidate Harley Rouda to a retired party, the Rohrabacher Party, at the Rouda campaign office in Costa Mesa. (Brian van der Brug / Kent Nishimura / Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Representative Dana Rohrabacher, who has 15 terms, made her political debut as a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and previously worked as an editorial writer for Orange County Register. The image he has built over the decades as a libertarian-oriented surfer has competed in recent years in his desire to build better relations with Russia, one of the publications naming him "the favorite deputy of Putin" .
The candidate Harley Rouda is a real estate investor born in Ohio who moved to Laguna Beach seven years ago. The former Republican became a Democrat last year, after almost two decades of political independence.
49th district of Congress
GOP candidate Diane Harkey with fans at the San Diego Golden Hall. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Tribune Union) Democratic candidate Mike Levin takes his picture with supporters at a rally in his campaign office in Oceanside. (David Maung / EPA / Rex / Shutterstock)
Left, Diane Harkey, GOP candidate, with fans at the San Diego Golden Hall. On the right, Democratic candidate Mike Levin takes his picture with supporters at a rally organized as part of the "Take Out the Vote" campaign in his campaign office in Oceanside. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Tribune Union / David Maung / EPA / Rex / Shutterstock)
GOP candidate Diane Harkey is chair of the state board, which oversees many of California's tax collection policies. A former lawmaker who has worked in the finance and banking sectors before going into politics, she has positioned herself as a candidate for companies that will fight against tax increases, will oppose the law California and will reduce regulations.
Democratic candidate Mike Levin is a lawyer specializing in environmental issues. Previously, he was Executive Director of the Orange County Democratic Party and, most recently, Director of Government Affairs for FuelCell Energy, an energy storage company that focuses on carbon capture.
50th arrondissement of the Congress
Democrat candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar from the center and campaign volunteers cheer by taking a group photo at the Campa-Najjar campaign office in Escondido County North. (Hayne Palmour IV / Union of San Diego Tribune) Representative Duncan Hunter Jr. holds a press conference on a hill overlooking the border, where sections of the fence are replaced by larger elements. (John Gibbins / San Diego-Tribune Union)
Representative Duncan Hunter Jr. holds a press conference on a hill overlooking the border, where sections of the fence are replaced by larger elements. (John Gibbins / San Diego-Tribune Union) Democrat candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar, left, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti discuss with Kristin Andrade in front of her garage in Escondido. (Hayne Palmour IV / Union of San Diego Tribune)
Clockwise from the top left; Democrat candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar, from the center, and campaign volunteers applaud by taking a group photo at Campa-Najjar's campaign office in Escondido County North; Representative Duncan Hunter Jr. holds a press conference on a hill overlooking the border, where sections of the fence are replaced by larger ones; Democrat candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar, left, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti discuss with Kristin Andrade in front of her garage in Escondido. (Hayne Palmour IV / John Gibbins / San Diego Tribune Union)
Republican President Duncan Hunter was first elected in 2008 and succeeded his father, former GOP representative Duncan L. Hunter, who has held this position for nearly three decades. A veteran of the Marine Corps, Hunter enlisted in the army following the attacks of September 11, after spending several years in the computer industry. He focused on his work defending the rights of veterans and said he supports Trump's policies to secure the border.
Campa-Najjar is a public relations strategist who previously worked for the Ministry of Labor under President Obama and for his re-election campaign. He was most recently director of communications at the American Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Born to a Mexican mother and a Palestinian father, Campa-Najjar grew up mainly in the suburbs of San Diego. He also spent a few years in the Palestinian territories.
