George Skelton: New California primary system may still need tweaking

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Californians test drove a new primary system this month. Under the new rules, the top two finishers in each race, regardless of party, advance to the November ballot.

Supporters hope that will lead to more moderate politicians in Sacramento, helping break the Capitol’s partisan gridlock. In Monday’s column, George Skelton considers whether there’s more work to be done on California’s primary system.

For starters, he says, it seems strange that candidates can easily beat their opponents, only to face them again in November.

‘That seems a waste of tax dollars for an unnecessary election redux,’ he said, adding, ‘So maybe the top-two system needs a major tweak: Win a majority vote in the primary and you win. Period.’

Like most things in politics, however, it’s not that simple. You can read the full column here. All of Skelton’s columns are here.

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