California’s test on crime, House members in danger and more: What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries

Concern about rising crime is overtaking key elections in California Tuesday, where liberal voters are putting pressure on Democrats around the state to address a growing sense of lawlessness spurred during the pandemic.

In key statewide races and local contests in the Democratic strongholds of San Francisco and Los Angeles, tough-on-crime messaging and calls to remove homeless encampments are taking hold, testing the staying power of the criminal justice reform movement that swept the nation in recent years.

The issues have sparked a recall election targeting San Francisco’s district attorney, driven the campaign of a billionaire mayoral hopeful in Los Angeles and shaped the state attorney general contest. Crime and public safety were among the top three concerns of the electorate, according to an April UC Berkeley poll, outranking race relations, health care and the coronavirus pandemic.

Tuesday’s elections also see three Republican House members fighting primary challenges, as well as a slate of battleground-district voters preparing to choose nominees for November races that could decide control of the House.