In CA, 287,590 vote for criminal who had dropped out of race

[RonPaulMall]

If Yee had the Mexican surname rather than the Asian one, he would have come in first or second and moved on to the general election.

 

[Zippyjuan]

Why? Are the majority of Californians from Mexico?

It is true that Alex Padilla had the most votes but he was also the only candidate who currently had a political office- he is a state senator so he had the best name recognition- the governor's race had a couple people with a hispanic surname- Richard Aguirre (Republican) got 0.9%, Louis Rodriguez (Green Party) 1.5% so their names had nothing to do with it.

 

[RonPaulMall]

Why? Are the majority of Californians from Mexico?

It is true that Alex Padilla had the most votes but he was also the only candidate who currently had a political office- he is a state senator so he had the best name recognition- the governor's race had a couple people with a hispanic surname- Richard Aguirre (Republican) got 0.9%, Louis Rodriguez (Green Party) 1.5% so their names had nothing to do with it.

Not a majority, but close to 40%, which is much more than the Asian population. Everyone knows who the Governor is, but for unknown offices, name means everything. All things being equal the Mexicans will vote the Mexican candidate, the Asians will vote the Asian candidate, and the Whites will vote the White candidate. And in races like that, its best to have the last name which corresponds to the race which has the most votes. Yee trumps Padilla in certain sections of California, but not in a statewide race.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

But we could say exactly the same thing - i.e., that they "missed the fact that [Yee] wasn't in the race anymore" - about many (probably most, and theoretically even all) of the people who voted for Padilla or Peterson, too. So what warrant have we been given to exempt any significant number of Padilla and Peterson voters from the very same assessment we are being invited to apply to Yee voters? Why should we single out the ones who voted for Yee as "sheer" ignoramuses (as did the political science professor in the OP article)?

Without the scandal, Yee probably would have gotten just about the same percentage as Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsome (around 50%). He is well-known, and was the number 2 Democrat in the California legislature. He only got 10%. I would still say that most Padilla voters would have voted for Yee if not for the scandal. But I do agree we are splitting hairs as to level of knowledge on the issues.

We can't simply say that everyone who voted for Yee must have been "ill-informed" and unaware that he had dropped out. Many people voted for Ron Paul in 2008 and 2012 knowing full well that he was "out of the race" - but they voted for him anyway.
How many Yee voters knowingly did the same - because they preferred him, or as a protest vote against the other Democrat, or whatever?

Granted, there might not be very many Yee voters who were aware he had dropped out. But there surely could be some.

Good point. There could have been quite a few that voted for him anyway. He probably still got the Tong vote.

 

[Suzanimal]

Ex-state Sen. Leland Yee pleads guilty to racketeering in corruption case

...

Then, after taking an oath before U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer, the San Francisco Democrat admitted to racketeering, concluding an unruly case, involving public corruption, promises of gun-running and more, that shook Sacramento.

“Today’s news turns the page on one of the darker chapters of the Senate’s history,” Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement.

The pleas entered Wednesday by Yee; his political fundraiser and consultant Keith Jackson; Jackson’s son, Brandon Jackson; and sports promoter Marlon Sullivan bring an end to one of two cases connected to a massive federal probe that initially targeted a Chinatown figure known as “Shrimp Boy,” now accused of organized crime activities.

The case, with 29 defendants lumped into a single indictment (one had since died) and eventually split into two cases, has produced 9 million pages of documents and countless hours of audio recordings, defense attorneys said.

Prosecutors alleged that Yee can be heard in the recordings speaking bluntly about granting legislative favors in exchange for campaign contributions, first for his failed 2011 bid for San Francisco mayor and later for his aborted run for secretary of state.

“We gotta drag it out, man. We gotta juice this thing,” the indictment quoted Yee as telling an undercover agent who claimed to be connected to an NFL team that wanted to “help” Yee in exchange for his vote on a worker’s compensation bill affecting the athletes.


Known as a gun control advocate in the Legislature, Yee, 67, was also accused of offering — in exchange for campaign donations — to broker a major weapons sale between a gun dealer and an undercover agent claiming to be a member of the New Jersey mob.

“Do I think we can make some money? I think we can make some money,” the senator said, according to the complaint. “Do I think we can get the goods? I think we can get the goods.”

Yee, who spared himself a trial where those sealed recordings and others would have been publicly shared, received no assurance that his prison sentence, which Breyer is scheduled to hand down on Oct. 21, would fall below the 20-year maximum spelled out in federal guidelines.

...

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-leland-yee-plea-20150701-story.html#page=1

 

[oyarde]

These are the people he promised shoulder fired rocket launchers to.

Yes . And the people who wanted him to continue in corruption .

 

[Ronin Truth]

Gee, it kinda makes ya wonder how many votes, if he hadn't dropped out?