“It’s easy to assume that a judicial seat contest like this is related to the broader political environment, but we shouldn’t read too much into it,” said David A. Carrillo, executive director of Berkeley Law’s California Constitution Center, referring to the race between Dixson and Bass. “Although they’re uncommon, occasional challenges to sitting judges or open-seat catfights do occur, so this isn’t exactly new,” Carrillo said. “And, as seems here, the challenger in these stories often fails.”
