California Dem says state is ‘almost a different country politically’

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) argued Tuesday that California should not have moved its 2020 presidential primary to earlier in the year, remarking that the state is a “different country politically.”

The California Democrat suggested in an interview on Hill.TV that a candidate who is popular in his state may not have the same popularity in other parts of the country as the party seeks to field a nominee to take on President Trump.

“My problem is that I think California should not have moved up its primary,” Peters told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”

“I think California in a way should ask Michigan and Wisconsin, ‘What Democrat do you want us to pick? And we’ll vote for him,'” he added.

Peters noted that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election while losing the Electoral College and thus the presidency.

“We are almost a different country politically,” he said. “When people say that Hillary Clinton won by 3 million votes nationally — she won by 4 million in California.” 

“We’re tremendously progressive, we’re very experimental, we’re very innovative,” he said. “I think for us in California and across the country, the priority is to beat President Trump, get a new president who shares our values and our view of government as a productive force for Americans, and to take the Senate.” 

California’s primary, which was officially moved up in 2017, is set to take place on March 3 next year. The earlier primary date could stand to benefit Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) due to earlier momentum from her delegate-rich home state.

The Golden State has played a lesser role in past presidential election cycles, given that its primary came months after the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. 

— Julia Manchester