Democrats hoping for huge Election Day turnout to keep House dreams alive

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- In California, we have an open primary. The system that was adopted eight years ago advances the top two finishers in each race to the November general election, as opposed to the top finisher of each party.

Think of it this way - there are 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Right now, Democrats control 193 seats, Republicans control 235 and seven seats are vacant.

YOUR VOICE, YOUR VOTE: Bay Area June 2018 Election Day voting guide

To get a majority and reclaim the House, Democrats need to defend all their current seats and add 25 more.

Republicans hold 23 seats in districts that Hillary Clinton carried in 2016, which means those seats could be ripe for Democrats. Seven of those are in California, more than any other state.

Two of them are in the Central Valley and five of them are in Southern California.

The three races where Democrats are most fearful of not having a top 2 finisher and being locked out of the general election are Districts 39, 48 and 49.

In two of these races, the GOP incumbents are retiring and should offer Democrats an opportunity. But, ironically, due to a flood of Democrats running, spurred on my opposition to President Trump, the Democratic vote will be split amongst many. That could allow two Republican candidates to rise to the top.

There's more bad news for the Democrats. Early absentee voting shows more Republican participation in those key districts.

Democrats are hoping for a huge turnout to keep their House dreams alive.

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