California will play a big role in the fight for power in Congress. Tuesday's primary sets the stage

California’s decision to redraw its congressional map to flip as many as five House seats to Democrats in November is poised to play a big and potentially decisive role in the nation’s broader, bare-knuckle fight for control of Congress.Tuesday’s primary races — where the top two candidates will advance to November runoffs — won’t determine which Republicans are ousted in most cases, but they will provide an important first look at voter sentiment and bring the fall’s most crucial head-to-head contests into focus.California California’s primary election takes place on June 2.

Learn about L.A.’s city and county races and others for state offices.“There will be some real cues and signals about what to expect,” said Christian Grose, a redistricting scholar and political science professor at USC.“We’re going to know how strong the Democrats’ chances are going to be based on who advances.”As one example, Grose pointed to the redrawn 22nd Congressional District in the Central Valley, where incumbent Rep.

David Valadao (R-Hanford) is facing challenges from moderate Assemblymember Jasmeet Kaur Bains (D-Delano) and progressive college professor Randy Villegas.Grose said Bains is probably a stronger challenger than Villegas in a district that’s still a reach for Democrats — even if “either one could probably beat Valadao if 2026 is a big Democratic wave.”Grose will also be closely watching the race between incumbent Reps.Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) and Ken Calvert (R-Corona) in the redrawn Congressional District 40, which covers a swath of inland Orange County and portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, including parts of Kim’s and Calvert’s current districts.The district race wasn’t designed to deliver Democrats a seat, but will produce “one of the first casualties for Republicans from the new map” — months before other expected ousters — if Kim and Calvert don’t both advance.The redistricting war was promp...