But some critics have asserted that Harris and other top-level Democrats may have avoided the race to dodge any association with California’s heated political battles. In addition to its persistent struggles with homelessness and housing costs, the state faces a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. Republicans like Hilton and Bianco lay those problems at the feet of the state’s Democratic leadership. “We need a change from those policies, not more of the same,” Hilton said during a May gubernatorial debate. But the Democratic leaders argue their party has steered the state through multiple crises, without Republican help. “It’s been Democrats that have led the state over the last 10-plus years — that have addressed issues like affordability and healthcare and public safety and education,” Hicks said. “Certainly, the other party in the mix, the California Republicans, have done little to nothing to provide any sort of a meaningful alternative.” The winners of Tuesday’s primary will likely be candidates who best sell their plan to improve California’s cost-of-living problem. Throughout the election season, Emerson College has identified the …