Democratic candidates ignore California's Central Valley in campaign

The Sacramento Bee reports today on the campaign stops of Democratic presidential hopefuls--or, more precisely, it reposts on where they are not stopping:  California's Central Valley.  Here's an excerpt from Bryan Anderson's story:

Democratic presidential candidates are making their way to California. A dozen of them have visited the state a combined 38 times, and there is no shortage of trips on the horizon.

But in their efforts to woo voters from the most populous state in the country, Democrats have largely ignored the Central Valley — a region with 6.5 million people and five large cities. 

A Sacramento Bee analysis shows none of the 16 declared candidates have held a rally in the valley. Instead, they’ve flocked to wealthier, urban communities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. California Sen. Kamala Harris became the first viable candidate to visit the region when she held a fundraiser in Sacramento Monday night. 

While it’s early in the 2020 election cycle and candidates need to find places with plenty of big-dollar donors, lawmakers, political experts and local activists warn it would be a mistake to continue dismissing the Central Valley.

Anderson quotes Michael Evans, chair of the Fresno County Democratic Party:

Historically, when Democrats have come to the area, they’ve just treated us as an ATM. We hoped moving the Democratic primary up to March, that there’d be more attention to the Central Valley and to our needs. That hasn’t seemed to happen yet. ... With 20 Democrats running, we ought to get one of them.

The only candidate with a Fresno visit scheduled is Julian Castro, who will speak to donors, but not hold a rally, on May 3.