A friend pointed me just now to this Congressional Quarterly article about a new entrant to the CA-32 special election to replace Hilda Solis. Benita Duran, a former staffer to Hilda Solis, has thrown her hat into the ring:
Benita Duran, a longtime L.A.-based aide to new Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, is jumping into the race to succeed her former boss in the House, clouding the picture in an already crowded primary field.
The May 19 primary is all but certain to determine the next representative for the overwhelmingly Democratic 32nd District.
Though her candidacy is not yet on record with the Federal Election Comission, Duran has established a campaign Website.
That makes her the fourth candidate in the race, joining Judy Chu, the chairman of the state Board of Equalization, state Sen. Gil Cedillo and Emanuel Pleitez, who was a member of President Obama’s transition team.
How will this affect the race? Your guess is as good as mine. One could argue that the entry of another Hispanic helps Chu by further splitting a potential ethnic vote, but there’s also the possibility that the entry of another woman in the race could soften Chu’s support. Or it’s possible that none of it could matter and labor will carry the day.
Me? I’m looking forward to the FEC reports for Q1.
A six-week sprint by Duran, when all three of the top candidates have been running with full organizations since around January or earlier, will not have a measurable effect whatsoever, IMO.
(and I’m not saying that just because Duran stiffed me when I tried to get a Solis interview at the DNC)
I hope CHU wins this thing!