from CPF.org

Firefighter-friendly candidates continued to find support among voters in this year’s primary contests for the Legislature and constitutional offices.

California Professional Firefighters' endorsed statewide candidates were top vote getters in six of the eight constitutional office contests, led by former Gov. Jerry Brown, who won his uncontested primary for governor.

Click here to read more about why CPF endorses Jerry Brown

At the legislative level, CPF-backed Democratic and Republican candidates won an astonishing 95% of contests.

Among the winners were several highly competitive Republican primaries in the Central Valley where CPF-backed candidates bested well-funded rivals. CPF’s top priority candidate in the state Senate – Noreen Evans – handily won her hard-fought primary.

The overall anti-incumbency mood dampened voter turnout in the primary, which came in at an all-time low of 25%.

This unpredictability produced a few surprises, most notably the apparent defeat of Republican Mike Villines, CPF’s endorsed candidate for insurance commissioner. Another close loss was in the race for attorney general, where CPF-backed Alberto Torrico lost to two well-funded rivals.

Of the 82 legislative contests in which CPF made an endorsement, the firefighter-backed candidate lost only in Senate District #4 and in Assembly Districts #9, 30 and 50.

The CPF Executive Board will review the results in these and other contests, and offer general election endorsements a little later on in the summer.

The firefighter position did not prevail on Proposition 14. The successful measure to eliminate the current primary system was opposed by CPF – the only statewide ballot measure on which CPF took a position.

To review the complete list of CPF-backed candidates and more information, check the Firefighters Election Guide at www.cpf.org.