Southern California holds special election for Congress
Voters in Southern California will go to the polls today to pick a new member of Congress to replace Democrat Jane Harman, who resigned to run a think tank.
The election in California's 36th District will be the first test of the state's new open primary system, in which all candidates run in a primary and the top two vote-getters regardless of party meet in a runoff if no one wins outright. (Louisiana has the same political system.)
Sixteen candidates are running to replace Harman, who now runs the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The most prominent candidates are Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Secretary of State Debra Bowen. Both Democrats have represented huge swaths of the district, which includes Los Angeles-area beach cities such as Venice and Marina del Rey and Torrance.
The district is overwhelmingly Democratic, giving President Obama 64% of the vote in the 2008 election and easily picking U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in the 2010 congressional elections.
Hahn, part of a well-known political dynasty in Los Angeles, has racked up key endorsements, including from the Los Angeles Times. Bowen has the support of environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the California League of Conservation Voters.
Turnout is expected to be low, as is typical for special elections. Polls are open from 7 a.m. PT to 8 p.m. PT.