Progressive city council member Nithya Raman has advanced to a November runoff against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, setting up an unexpected matchup between two Democrats and former political allies to run the struggling city of nearly 4 million. The outcome means Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality television personality from “The Hills,” is out of the running. Raman made a last-minute entry into the race, after she had endorsed Bass for reelection. The race also has historical markers. Bass is the first Black woman to hold the post, and Raman could be the first South Asian woman in the job.

California’s congressional primaries on Tuesday are a preliminary test of Democrats’ best chance at countering Republican redistricting gains elsewhere this year. The party won voter approval last year to redraw the state's congressional map to create five more winnable U.S. House seats. But some Democrats now worry that they could be locked out of the November ballot in one of those districts, near San Diego. The reason: So many Democrats are running for the seat, they could split the vote and allow two Republicans to advance to the runoff. Other races elsewhere in the state are defined by the progressive-establishment split among Democrats.

Democrats are increasingly critiquing each other over their personal stock trades as the party looks to hone its anti-corruption message against President Donald Trump in the midterm elections. In primary races across the country, Democrats are critiquing individual stock trades and the personal wealth of their rivals in a bid to build credibility with voters. Polls show the public takes a dim view of insider trading in Washington and supports more guardrails against corruption. The debates have scrambled ideological lines inside the party, with some more moderate lawmakers attacking progressive rivals over past stock trades. Progressives express skepticism that Democrats who have recently highlighted the issue are offering genuine critiques about money in politics.