Democrats got a bad shake from the Mariposa Gazette last week, as two prominent candidates were not included in the paper’s reporting of the Statewide Direct Primary Election on June 2.
Most notably, Michael Masuda was not included as a candidate in the race for the 5th Congressional District. He has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party and the Mariposa County Democratic Central Committee.
Masuda will face off against incumbent Republican Congressman Tom McClintock and Democrat, Michael Barkley, who lost to McClintock in 2024.
Other, lesser known 5th Congressional candidates include Democrats Paul Danbom, Angelina Sigala and Republican Jason Weland, according to Ballotpedia.
In addition, the Gazette failed to mention that Democrat Jaron Brandon is running in State Senate District 4 against former Democrat turned Republican incumbent Marie Alvarado Gil and Alexandra Duarte.
How could such an oversight happen, you may wonder?
Humans. Mistakes. Assumptions.
The Mariposa County Elections Department inadvertently posted primary candidates for state and congressional races who had filed their “Statement of Qualification” to be included in a county information handout, said Courtney Progner Morrow, Mariposa County Registrar of Voters.
But what really counted for the March 6 declaration of candidacy deadline is the official “Filing for Candidacy.”
For congressional, state senate and assembly races, which cross county boundaries, the “Filing for Candidacy” is completed in the county where the candidate lives.
County election officials later coordinate the candidate list to be placed on the primary ballot.
The story mistakenly assumed that the list posted by Mariposa County Elections Department on the March 6 deadline was a complete and comprehensive list of candidates. It was not.
On March 12, after receiving calls from concerned Democrats and the Gazette, the Mariposa County Elections Department reposted its Candidates and Contact Information list, removing the incomplete list of candidates for State Senate District 4, Assembly District 8 and the 5th Congressional District.
The California Secretary of State will publish the Certified List of Qualified Candidates on March 26. The Mariposa Gazette will report on the full list at that time.
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