Harris vs. Sanchez Senate Race Tops Weekend Democratic Gathering

Forget about Hillary vs. Bernie or Trump vs. Everyone Else. The top billing at this weekend's California Democratic Party Convention in San Jose is Kamala vs. Loretta. Harris vs. Sanchez, that is.

The state attorney general and the Orange County congresswoman are vying for an all-important party endorsement from the 3,000 or so delegates and insiders gathering at the San Jose Convention Center. The vote will be taken Saturday, with the results announced that night.

It's tough to win that party endorsement in contested primaries with no incumbent running, as in this race to fill Sen. Barbara Boxer's seat. It'll take 60 percent-plus-one votes to claim the official party nod. Making it especially tough is that delegates can also vote "no endorsement." But it's also an expectations game.

Nathan Click, spokesman for Kamala Harris' campaign, downplayed her chances, noting how rare it is for Democratic candidates in contested races to win the endorsement.

"The last time it happened was 2010," Click said, referring to insurance commissioner candidate Dave Jones, who managed to win the endorsement over state Assemblyman Hector De La Torre from Los Angeles. Jones went on to easily win the primary before defeating the Republican candidate, Mike Villines. Jones has already jumped into the 2018 race for attorney general. He may have the inside track to be appointed attorney general by Gov. Jerry Brown, if Harris wins the Senate race in November.

"In 2010, Gavin Newsom didn't get it in his race for lieutenant governor and (Assembly speaker) John Pérez didn't get either," Click added. Both Newsom and Pérez were facing Democratic primary opponents with strong enough blocks of support to prevent them from getting that 60 percent-plus-one threshold.

Despite the expectations game, both Harris and Sanchez have been traveling the state in recent weeks, trying hard to lock down support from delegates all over California. Harris, who leads Sanchez in fundraising and polling, is the only one with a reasonable chance of winning the endorsement. Blocking her would be considered a victory for Sanchez, who has angered Muslims and Native Americans in the past few months with comments many regarded as insensitive at best.

Other weekend highlights include a Saturday afternoon speech by Vice President Joe Biden, a favorite among rank-and-file Democrats, who see him as a "regular Joe" champion of the working class. Biden is sure to address the boiling debate in Washington over President Obama's pending nomination to fill the seat of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. After that he's off to Los Angeles and the Oscars, where he'll introduce Lady Gaga, who will perform "Til It Happens to You," nominated as Best Original Song from the documentary "The Hunting Ground" about sexual assaults on campus.

There will be other endorsement skirmishes too, notably embattled San Jose congressman Mike Honda, who is hoping for a boost in his re-election rematch with Silicon Valley attorney Ro Khanna. Honda failed to win an early endorsement from the party, which might be a bit spooked by a House ethics investigation into Honda's fundraising.

Beyond that, retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, 75, will take a final victory lap with a speech on Saturday.

The convention will also showcase the next generation of Democratic Party leaders, many of whom have been frozen in place by party elders, including Jerry Brown who is 77 years old, Dianne Feinstein, 82, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 75.

Lt. Gov. Newsom is raising his profile -- and lots of campaign cash -- in his bid to succeed Jerry Brown as governor. Others making noise about running in 2018 include state Treasurer John Chiang, billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Feinstein, who is the oldest member of the U.S. Senate, hasn't indicated whether she'll run for re-election in 2018. Already a long list of potential successors is being floated, including Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Also attending will be Los Angeles congressman Xavier Becerra, whose term as House Democratic Party Chair expires this year. Becerra, who turned down an offer to be President Obama's trade representative, has been campaigning hard for Hillary Clinton and is even mentioned as a possible running mate.

This weekend's Democratic Convention is a chance for all of them to show the party faithful what they've got, in hopes that opportunities to move up the political ladder will be opening soon.

NOTE: This story was corrected to say that Democrat Dave Jones defeated Republican Mike Villines in the 2010 election for California Insurance Commissioner. The original article incorrectly stated that Jones defeated Steve Poizner. Poizner was the incumbent Insurance Commissioner that year but did not run for re-election.