Californians may be aware that there is a special election this Tuesday, May 19th with some propositions on the ballot. There’s also an open race for the 32nd congressional seat in Los Angeles; an area that includes Rosemead, El Monte, Baldwin Park, Covina and most of Monterey Park. The Los Angeles Times insightfully analyzes the racial dynamics of the race with the two leading contenders: Dr. Judy Chu — Chair of the California Board of Equalization — and Latino California State Senator Gil Cedillo:
“Standing in Chu’s way, however, is no small barrier: The inclination of voters to cast ballots along ethnic lines. Latino voters still outnumber Asians by more than 3 to 1 in the district, a blessing for Gil Cedillo, Chu’s chief rival … In Chu’s case, she would need perhaps a third of Latinos to join Asians and whites in voting for her.”
Latinos currently make up 51% of the electorate in the district. Racial politics aside, Chu does seemed to be the most experienced and qualified candidate, and has lined up an impressive number of key endorsements, including most area city council members. Is the age of racial politics in America over in the age of Obama? I doubt it, but how about in the world of multiracial, minority-majority California?
(Image source: The Los Angeles Times)
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2 Comments to “Political Aspirations of Latinos and Asians Clash in Congressional Race”
John wrote:
opponent’s campaign against judy chu gets dirty
5/18/09
http://www.angryasianman.com/2009/05/opponents-campaign-against-judy-chu.html
Posted on 18-May-09 at 11:25 am | Permalink
8Asians.com » Dr. Judy Chu Wins in Special Election wrote:
[...] As I had blogged earlier this week, Dr. Judy Chu and California State Senator Gil Cedillo — amongst others — were running for the vacated 32nd District Congressional seat, a seat dominated by Hispanics for nearly 27 years. On Tuesday, Chu garnered 32% of the votes versus Cedillo winning 23% of the vote. However, since Chu didn’t win by over 50%, there will be a special run-off election on July 14th, against Republican Betty Chu — her cousin and speculated by some blogs as receiving the nomination due to sharing the last name as Judy Chu — and Christopher Agrella, the Libertarian Party candidate. Since the district is heavily Democratic, Chu should win easily in July. Once Chu wins the special election, she’ll be the twelfth Asian American in Congress, and the second Chinese American. So congratulations to Judy Chu on building a multi-ethnic winning coalition and best of luck to her in Congress! [...]
Posted on 21-May-09 at 7:01 am | Permalink
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