The appointment of Democratic Rep. Hilda Solis as Labor secretary has prompted 12 candidates to jump into a rare special election to replace her in the San Gabriel Valley-based 32nd Congressional District.
Most politics experts, however, see the May 19 primary race as essentially a two-way contest between two seasoned, liberal Democrats: state Sen. Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles and state Board of Equalization member and former Assemblywoman Judy Chu of Monterey Park.
Already, Cedillo and Chu have far outdistanced the others -- six Democrats, three Republicans and a Libertarian -- in fundraising and in backing from influential groups and prominent politicians.
The race, with a Latino and an Asian American as front-runners, is a harbinger of future Los Angeles-area politics, with diminishing numbers of older white voters and members of growing minority groups competing for offices, said Jaime A. Regalado, director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A.
"You are going to see Latinos and Asians and Pacific Islanders running against each other," said Regalado, who said it is not unusual to have so many candidates run for a rare open congressional seat.
"It's a glamour race that is going to bring people out of the woodwork to run," Regalado said.
And, because congressional offices are not subject to term limits, the seat is especially attractive to state elected officials tired of scrambling to find another post as they face being termed out of their jobs.
Both Cedillo and Chu are "seasoned veterans with no place else to go," Regalado added, "and that's what makes the stakes so very high."
Voters will find all 12 candidates on their ballot, regardless of party affiliation. Such a large field makes it unlikely that any single candidate can garner the majority needed to win the race outright. In that case, the top finishers in each party will meet in a July 14 runoff.
In the largely blue-collar district, Latinos account for more than 60% of the population and 48% of registered voters, while Asian Americans make up 19% of the district's population and 13% of its voter roll.
Democrats hold a 52% to 23% registration edge over Republicans, prompting the California Target Book, which tracks political races in the state, to label the seat "safe Democratic."
Even before the filing period closed earlier this month, the race showed signs of some sharp elbows.
