Burdick receives co-endorsement from SN&R in challenge to fellow Democrat Bera

In his upstart intraparty challenge to incumbent Rep. Ami Bera, this week Jeff Burdick's candidacy for California's 7th Congressional District got a shot in the arm when it received a co-endorsement from the Sacramento News & Review. Burdick is one of four challengers to Bera in the March 3 primary.

"I appreciate the Sacramento News & Review's endorsement and their recognition that the 7th Congressional District is now solidly Democratic," Jeff Burdick said. "I agree California's 7th Congressional District needs to closely compare my principles and policies against those of our party-straddling incumbent."

Burdick, an Arden-Arcade resident and information officer for Caltrans, is running as a progressive Democratic candidate, while Bera, who is seeking his fifth term, has long been considered a moderate.

In California's top-two primary system, the top two finishers will advance to the November general election regardless of party affiliation. While Bera is expected to advance easily, Burdick is vying for the second position arguing that the 7th District is solidly Democratic, and their race would be an affirmation of what direction constituents want their representative to take in Congress.

Bera, who first ran and lost to incumbent Republican Dan Lungren in 2010, returned in 2012 and narrowly won the seat. Although challenged by well funded Republican candidates former Representative Doug Ose and Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones in 2014 ad 2016 respectively, Bera narrowly prevailed.

In 2018 Bera was challenged by Republican Andrew Grant, who, unlike Ose and Jones, did not have the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Bera easily won the race.

When Bera beat Lungren in 2012, the district had been redrawn following the 2010 census and had eliminated all of the rural areas in the previous map. The 7th District is now contained within Sacramento County and includes Elk Grove, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, and portions of unincorporated Sacramento County.

The other challengers in the race include Green Party candidate Chris Richardson, and Republicans Jon Ivey and Buzz Patterson. In comments posted on a previous EGN story, a Sacramento County Republican Party official disavowed Ivey, who is running on a progressive platform, and Patterson to date has not been promoted by the NRCC. 

Should Ivey's candidacy siphon Republican voters from Patterson, it could provide Burdick an opening to finish in the top two, which would then propel him to the November general election.

While Bera remains the Democratic establishment's choice, Burdick has picked up endorsements from the JFK Democratic Club of Sacramento County; Town & Country Democrats of Sacramento County; elected officials such as Michael Baker, Vice President, Two Rivers School District Board, and John Lenahan, President, Del Paso Water District Board.

As of their January 31 assessment, Cook's Political Report included the 7th District race in its list of competitive races, it did rate it as likely Democratic and favoring Bera.  

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