The February 25 issue of the Wall Street Journal carries an op-ed describing how California’s top-two primary is working in this year’s U.S. Senate race. Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff is leading in the polls, and he is paying for insincere ads that boost Republican candidate Steve Garvey. Schiff is hoping that the top two candidates in the March 5 primary will be himself and Garvey. This is because Schiff knows how weak the Republican Party is in California, and that if Garvey is Schiff’s only opponent, Schiff will probably win in November easily.

Meanwhile, Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter, who is second in the polls, is backing insincere ads that try to boost Eric Early, another Republican candidate. Porter hopes to divert more votes away from Garvey, by causing more Republican voters to support Early instead of Garvey. If Porter can weaken Garvey, she is more likely to place in the top two.

The op-ed also says that although backers of top-two believed their system would help elect moderates, in reality this year in the U.S. Senate race, the two leading Democrats are opposing each other by moving further to the left. The op-ed is probably behind a pay wall for most readers, but here is a link.