State offices draw fierce competition

They are among several primary races being held for California’s constitutional offices.

The winners will represent their respective parties this fall for the posts of chief financial officer, tax collector, insurance regulator and elections officer. The superintendent of public instruction is a nonpartisan post.

There are no contested nominations for state treasurer.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and former Facebook privacy officer Chris Kelly are among the top Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for attorney general, with the winner likely facing Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, a Republican who has pursued prosecutions of fugitive film director Roman Polanski and Michael Jackson’s doctor.

Harris, who is billing herself as the reform candidate, has star power with celebrity donors, but also some political baggage.

Her office is embroiled in two high-profile controversies involving the San Francisco police crime lab and a failure to disclose testifying officers’ criminal or disciplinary histories.

Kelly, a political outsider with no prosecutorial experience, has tried to capitalize on the scandals and remind voters of Harris’ reluctance to seek the death penalty and San Francisco’s reputation as a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants. Harris’ campaign has tied Kelly to concerns over Facebook’s privacy policies, which have angered many users.

He raised more than $12.3 million, almost all of it from his own fortune. Harris raised more than $3.3 million for her campaign, largely from small donations.

Five other Democrats hope the fractured field will push them into the general election.

With nearly a fifth of precincts reporting, Harris was leading with 33 percent of the vote to Kelly’s 18 percent.

In the race for the state’s No. 2 job, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is trying to keep his political career alive by appealing to young voters and touting his small business-background and leadership on gay marriage and universal health care.

He faces competition from Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who has said her gender and location in voter-rich Southern California would help balance a Democratic ticket in the fall led by gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown.

Newsom led 57 percent to Hahn’s 31 percent with 20 percent of precincts reporting, though much of Southern California had yet to be counted.

Two Republicans in the race, state Sen. Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley and current Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, have sparred over who is a better representative of their party’s core ideals. Early results showed Maldonado holding a strong lead.

Down ballot, voters were asked to pick their party’s candidate for state insurance commissioner, a position that will play a pivotal role in monitoring how the new federal health care reform law is implemented.

Sacramento Assemblyman Dave Jones won the Democratic nomination over fellow Assemblyman Hector De La Torre of South Gate.

Voters were also choosing a nominee for state controller, a job that involves watching over roughly $100 billion in spending.

A dozen candidates also have filed for the nonpartisan superintendent of public instruction, which oversees state policies for local school districts. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two will move on to the general election.

Former NFL journeyman Damon Dunn defeated Orange County lawyer Orly Taitz for the Republican nomination for secretary of state. Dunn, who had never voted before 2009, will face Democratic incumbent Debra Bowen in November.