While the U.S. allows multiple parties to participate in the political system, it is, and always has been, a system dominated by two political parties. However, this year both the Democrats and Republicans have evolved into factions that could be imagined as new political parties.

In an interview for IVN, Democratic U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez discussed her chances in the competitive race for Barbara Boxer's open U.S. Senate seat.

Sanchez, who currently represents California's 46th Congressional District, remarked on what it would mean to her to be the nation's first Latina senator, the DNC chair's comments on independents voting in primaries, the state of partisanship in Congress, and more.

For the past eight years, President Barack Obama has been the target of unrelenting and vulgar attacks from the right - questioning everything from his office eligibility to his intellect related to the color of his skin. The rhetoric though has had an unintended effect; the GOP brand from New York to San Diego is toxic.

Está más que documentado en los medios de comunicación que Donald Trump y Bernie Sanders, los dos candidatos que se oponen al sistema partidista, han impulsado el interés en las elecciones primarias de 2016 y la asistencia a ellas. Se espera que este fenómeno continúe a California.

La candidatura de Donald Trump en particular, podría tener un gran impacto en la elección del Distrito 52 del Congreso de California, donde el Congresista Incumbente Scott Peters (D) se está enfrentando a 5 candidatos republicanos en la primaria no partidista.

Puede el término “down-ballot” race te resulte familiar en este año electoral. Para quienes no están familiarizados con la política, este término hace referencia a las contiendas locales que aparecen en la parte inferior de la boleta electoral, donde usualmente se enlistan las oficinas en disputa, descendiendo de nacional a local.

¿Por qué es este término tan relevante en 2016?