CA Primary: Independents' Day?

In California, voters to decline to state a party preference may nevertheless vote in party primaries. Ken McLaughlin of the San Jose Mercury News reports on a possible impact on the GOP races for governor and senator:

Historically, California's independent voters don't swing primary elections. But with Boxer and Jerry Brown, the presumed Democratic candidate for governor, essentially running unopposed in the primary, Republican strategists are preparing for an influx of independent voters since the GOP primary is the only game in town for those who want their vote to make a difference in the top races in June.

The independents could be key in the U.S. Senate race in which Republicans Carly Fiorina and Tom Campbell are running neck and neck in the polls. Additionally, Meg Whitman, the GOP front-runner in the gubernatorial primary, is expected to target independents now to try to lock up their votes through the fall through a direct mail campaign that encourages independents to request a Republican mail-in ballot or pick one up at the polls.