Democrats redrew California's map to counter Trump. The primary tests whether it pays off for them

California Democrats persuaded voters to let them redraw the state's congressional map so the party could potentially gain five seats in the U.S. House to counter GOP redistricting in Texas. Tuesday’s primary will be the first indication of whether that will pay off.

The state’s unusual primary system, in which the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party, means Democrats have a chance of effectively missing out on a pickup in the San Diego suburbs, where Republican Rep. Darrell Issa's district was redrawn to give it a slight Democratic lean.

Issa retired, and a Republican San Diego County supervisor, Jim Desmond, stepped in to run. So did an avalanche of nine Democrats — so many that some fear the Democratic vote will be split among them, leaving Desmond and the only other GOP candidate, Jim O’Neil, as the top vote-getters. Under that scenario, Democrats would be locked out of the November general election.

“After millions of dollars and a nationwide effort to redraw these districts in response to Texas, Democrats being shut out would be a nightmare,” said Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former Obama administration official who is one of the Democrats running.

California has been the bright spot for Democrats in a redistricting war kicked off by President Donald Trump to help his party retain control of the House. After Texas redrew its map to make as many as five more seats winnable for the GOP, California voters allowed Democrats to suspend their state’s own independent redistricting commission and create a new map in retaliation.

But when Virginia Democrats tried to replicate that, they were blocked by their state Supreme Court. Meanwhile the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, letting Republicans eliminate some majority-Black congressional districts in the South.

Campa-Najjar, San Diego City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert and investor Brandon Riker, who is financing his own campaign, are the most prominent Democrats in the race for the seat vacated by Issa. Many Democrats are optimistic their voters will coalesce around one candidate and set up a competitive election against Desmond in the fall.

The 48th district would not be the only competitive fall race for Democrats.

In the Central Valley, they redrew the seat held by Republican Rep. David Valadao to make it even more Democratic. Valadao is a survivor of several targeted Democratic campaigns and one of two remaining Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

He's expected to make it to the general election, so the primary will determine which Democrat faces him — state Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, a moderate backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or Randy Villegas, a political science professor at College of the Sequoias and a school board member who represents the party’s liberal wing.

The schism between establishment Democrats and a younger, insurgent progressive wing is a defining characteristic of many of this year's primaries.

In a safe Democratic district in San Francisco, Scott Wiener, a state lawmaker and former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, is considered likely to make the November race to replace retiring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The suspense is over whether he will face Saikat Charkrabati, a wealthy former technology entrepreneur who supported Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s insurgent primary in 2018, or Supervisor Connie Chan, who was endorsed by Pelosi.

In Sacramento, city council member Mai Vang is challenging 81-year-old Rep. Doris Matsui, who succeeded her late husband after his death in 2005.

Rep. Brad Sherman, whose Southern California district stretches from the San Fernando Valley to Malibu, is being challenged by Democrat Jake Levine, a 42-year-old lawyer who argues that it is time to move on from the 15-term congressman.

And in a redrawn district that stretches from Napa Valley into conservative Northern California farming communities, 14-term Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson has drawn a younger challenger, former venture capitalist Eric Jones.

California's congressional primaries also will determine the fate of Republicans targeted in the Democratic redraw.

In Southern California, sitting Republican Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim, were drawn into the same conservative district and are battling over their pro-Trump credentials.

In the Sacramento suburbs, Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the GOP to become an independent and a critic of partisan gerrymandering, hopes to survive in one of the two Democratic-leaning districts where his more conservative district’s voters were scattered.

Meanwhile in the San Francisco suburbs, six Democrats and two Republicans are running for the seat formerly held by Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned and ended his gubernatorial bid amid sexual harassment allegations. The top two vote-getters advance to the November ballot to fill the seat starting in 2027, while a special election will be held June 18 for the remainder of Swalwell's current term.

FILE - Mai Vang speaks to people at a campaign fundraiser, Jan. 21, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)

FILE - California Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Oct. 29, 2024.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

FILE - Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., speaks at the Capitol in Washington, April 15, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Jim Desmond, a Republican candidate for California's 48th Congressional District, poses for a portrait Friday, May 29, 2026, in Vista, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Marni von Wilpert, a Democratic candidate for California's 48th Congressional District, canvasses in a neighborhood Friday, May 29, 2026, in San Marcos, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Ammar Campa-Najjar, right, a Democratic candidate for California's 48th Congressional District, speaks with a family as he canvasses in a neighborhood Saturday, May 23, 2026, in San Marcos, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Democrats will choose their U.S. House nominee on Tuesday in a New Jersey battleground district represented by Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr., who's been absent from Congress for months as he deals with an unspecified medical issue.

New Jersey's 7th District, which includes suburban towns and rolling farmland — and one of President Donald Trump's golf clubs — is the state's highest-profile primary. Four Democrats are competing to take on Kean, whose aides have said he plans on seeking a third term.

Kean's absence — his last vote was in early March — has supercharged interest in the seat, which Democrats view as key to winning control of the narrowly divided House and Republicans recognize as important to defend. Voters in the district have ousted two incumbents during midterm elections over the past decade.

Democratic voters are deciding between Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot whose background mirrors Gov. Mikie Sherrill's, Michael Roth, a former Small Business Administration official, Tina Shah, an intensive care unit doctor, and Brian Varela, a businessman with backing from progressive groups.

The campaign has been hotly contested, with each candidate bringing in seven figures in fundraising and walking a line between appealing to the party's base and to more independent general election voters.

Bennett's campaign has come under fire from a political action committee that's spent about $650,000 in the primary, attacking her from the left. Bennett said in an interview she believes the group, whose donors haven't been disclosed, is Republican-backed and aiming to weaken her candidacy because they fear her in the general election.

The Democrats are leaning into the rising costs of groceries and gasoline caused by the Iran war and Trump's sweeping tariffs. They're casting blame at Republicans and Kean in particular, who they say is a bad fit for the district, pointing to his support for the president's signature tax cut legislation.

Kean's absence has raised eyebrows. Kean posted on X last month that he's dealing with a “personal medical issue” and is expected to return soon, though he provided no details on what the issue is and his staff and political aides have declined to elaborate.

The district was redrawn after the most recent census to become more favorable to Republicans, but it's gone back and forth in recent years. Kean ousted incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2022, who defeated Republican Rep. Leonard Lance in 2018.

Also being watched Tuesday is a Republican Senate primary. The party has been adrift in New Jersey since last year when its Trump-backed candidate for governor lost by double digits. Voters face a four-way race between attorney Justin Murphy, surgeon Robert Lebovics, Army veteran Richard Tabor and former TV reporter Alex Zdan.

The winner will face Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who is running for a full third term.

More House seats could have noteworthy campaigns in the fall.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew is seeking a fifth term in southern New Jersey’s 2nd District. He was originally elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party during Trump's first term.

Rep. Bonnie Watson is retiring from the heavily Democratic 12th District, where a crowded primary field is vying to succeed her.

Dr. Adam Hamawy, a surgeon and Army veteran, has shot to prominence with endorsements from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives. Some of his opponents recently began criticizing him over his connection to Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up the United Nations and other New York-area landmarks.

Hamawy was a defense witness in the sheik's trial but wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. He has condemned violence and distanced himself from the sheik during the campaign. Abdel-Rahman died in federal prison in 2017.

Republicans are picking their nominee in northern New Jersey's 9th District, choosing between attorney Tiffany Burress and Clifton City Councilwoman Rosie Pino, to take on first-term Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou. Pou's margin of victory in 2024 was narrower than her long-serving predecessor, Rep. Bill Pascrell, and coincided with Trump winning a county in the district.

FILE - This photo combination shows Democrat candidates for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, from left, Rebecca Bennett, May 30, 2026, in Flemington, N.J., Brian Varela, May 30, 2026, in Sparta, N.J. and Michael Roth, May 31, 2026, in Rahway, N.J. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2019, file photo, New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Westfield, addresses reporters in Trenton, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)