The midterm elections will be taking place on Nov. 6. This year the elections have higher stakes since the two major political parties are vying for control of the House and the Senate. One of California’s two senate seat is up for election, with incumbent Dianne Feinstein challenging fellow Democrat Kevin de León for the seat. California will also be electing a new governor as Gov. Jerry Brown hits completes his second term. According to California law, governors are limited to serving a maximum of two terms.

Gubernatorial Race

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (Democrat) currently holds the lead for California governor with 33.8 percent of the vote in the June primary. He is second in command to Gov. Jerry Brown and was previously mayor of San Francisco.

Newsom made a name for himself in 2004 when he granted marriage licenses for same-sex couples as the mayor of San Francisco. Now he wants to pass “The Equality Act” in order to help the LGBTQ community. He supports LGBTQ rights and wants to work in Congress to pass the Equality Act. Newsom advocates for universal healthcare with a single-payer system under his belief that healthcare should be a right for everyone. Newsome with a single payer system under his belief that healthcare is a right.

Newsom understands that California is a diverse state and so he stands with California’s “sanctuary” status on immigration and he supports comprehensive immigration reform. Newsom understands that California is comprised mostly of immigrants and he wants to protect and help them by introducing protections for immigrants in the workplace. He also wants to give proper legal defense to immigrants who may otherwise not be able to afford it.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (Democrat) currently holds the lead for California governor with 33.8 percent of the vote in the June primary. He is second in command to Gov. Jerry Brown and was previously mayor of San Francisco.

Newsom made a name for himself in 2004 when he granted marriage licenses for same-sex couples as the mayor of San Francisco. Now he wants to pass “The Equality Act” in order to help the LGBTQ community. He supports LGBTQ rights and wants to work in Congress to pass the Equality Act. Newsom advocates for universal healthcare with a single-payer system under his belief that healthcare should be a right for everyone. Newsome with a single payer system under his belief that healthcare is a right.

Newsom understands that California is a diverse state and so he stands with California’s “sanctuary” status on immigration and he supports comprehensive immigration reform. Newsom understands that California is comprised mostly of immigrants and he wants to protect and help them by introducing protections for immigrants in the workplace. He also wants to give proper legal defense to immigrants who may otherwise not be able to afford it.

John Cox (Republican) is the runner-up for California governor with a total of 26.2 percent of votes in the primary election.

Cox is a businessman with previous unsuccessful runs for president and senator of Illinois. He made his mark when he tried to change how Representatives are elected by creating “neighborhood councils,” which would elect a district representative.

The idea didn’t make the ballot but Cox is prepared to continue trying. He boasts an 83 percent rating from the National Rifle Association. Cox supports a free market healthcare solution instead. He wants competition between hospitals to reduce costs.

Cox is also against the “sanctuary” status of California and he supports President Trump’s “Border Wall.” Cox doesn’t believe that immigrants should be offered any health benefits.

Senate Seat Race

Dianne Feinstein won the primary with 44.8 percent of the vote. She is the incumbent in this race, having served five full terms.

Feinstein has been advocating for protections for immigrant children and the passage of the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act. She has strongly opposed President Trump’s orders that separated immigrant children from their parents at the border and further restricted immigration into the country. Feinstein co-sponsored the bill that blocked Trump’s third executive order, which would prevent immigrants from certain countries from entering the United States due to a purported high risk of terrorism from visitors from those countries.

She has also supported the Affordable Care Act and has voted against efforts to restrict abortions. Throughout Feinstein’s career there have been various shootings and she has spoken out against the control the NRA has in Congress.

In education, Feinstein supports proposals made to allow students who take out loans to refinance those loans, as one would with mortgages. She also supports early-learning programs which, according to research, makes children more likely to graduate high school and college.

Feinstein has long battled global warming by increasing fuel efficiency and has  attempted to put forth legislation that will increase the standards of fuel economy.  

Kevin De León is running against incumbent Dianne Feinstein after barely advancing in the primary with 12.07 percent.

He was president pro Tempore of the California state senate from 2014-2018. He is widely viewed as a progressive candidate with a strong focus on immigration. De León wants to lead Congress to act on immigration reforms. De León strives to clear the overcrowded detention centers, which immigrants who cross the border are housed in, while also providing more pathways towards citizenship.

He believes the border wall is a waste of money and he aims to end mass deportations. De Leon also a strong advocate for making healthcare a right. He is a proponent of the Medicare for All plan which would give healthcare to every citizen under a single payer system.

Another issue De León feels strongly about is gun control. He is introducing a comprehensive plan for gun-control which includes a ban on assault weapons, an expansion on background checks, prohibiting domestic abusers and stalkers from purchasing a gun, punishing gun trafficking with harsher punishments and increasing funding for gun violence research and community programs for areas that suffer from higher than average gun violence.

For the environment, De León is proposing a Green New Deal, which calls for reduced dependence on fossil fuels and oil imports from other countries. By creating what is stated in the plan, De León will also be creating new jobs for Californians. De León is also advocating for affordable plans for colleges.

He wants to ensure that our country’s youth gets the highest education possible without graduating with thousands of dollars of debt. In order to achieve this, De León wants to provide tuition-free entrance to public universities.