Got this sent down from the AAA-Fund Blog and thought I'd post up a snippet in case any of you were following:
Judy Chu’s Race BeginsRead it in full here.
Before hearing our President speak, the Senate overwhelmingly voted to confirm Rep. Hilda Solis as the nation’s Labor Secretary. While it had been percolating for a couple months, the race to succeed her has officially begun.
Now the Governor has two weeks to call the election. As we predicted earlier, he’ll probably set it for May 19, the same day Californians will be voting on the state budget. How will that date affect Dr. Chu’s chances? This morning, Roll Call (subscription only) took a look:
[Gil] Cedillo’s advisers believe the election date — and the heightened turnout — benefits their candidate immensely. If Solis’ nomination as Labor secretary hadn’t run into snags, the special election almost certainly would have been held earlier, magnifying Chu’s early advantage in fundraising and local endorsements. And the greater turnout from the statewide election almost inevitably means more Latino voters going to the polls.
“Fate has been good to us,” said Leo Briones, Cedillo’s media consultant.
But Chu’s team believes the timing of the special election date is a wash. Parke Skelton, a consultant for Chu, said a relatively large number of union members will turn out for the statewide ballot questions. The powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor has endorsed Chu in the special election.
