A Race for Congress with a New and Different Look

In the race for the 30th Congressional District, registration is 49 percent Democratic, 25 percent Republican and 21 percent Independent. Under new state rules, two Democrats and two Republicans are running in same June primary. The top two vote-getters will be in the November runoff — even if they’re in the same party. The Democrats are two veterans of Congress now in the same district because of new district boundaries: A tax lawyer and accountant, Brad Sherman, first elected in 1997, is a member of the Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees. Attorney Howard Berman, first elected in 1982, is a former chair, now ranking-member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Republicans Susan Shelley, former associate producer of the game show Jeopardy, is the author of The 37th Amendment, a novel about due process. Republican Mark Reed is an actor, small businessman and rancher.