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-in-law 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!
(Image: Judy Chu, vice chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization, reacts to the crowd of supporters as she awaits election results at a restaurant in Covina. Image source: The Los Angeles Times).
What next?
Other posts you may be interested in:
- Dr. Judy Chu Officially Wins US House Seat in California
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6 Comments to “Dr. Judy Chu Wins in Special Election”
Asianmommy wrote:
That’s awesome–congrats to Dr. Chu!
Posted on 21-May-09 at 11:39 am | Permalink
John wrote:
Two Chus among candidates for San Gabriel Valley seat
The Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2009
What’s in a name? Just about everything, it turns out, in the 32nd Congressional District.
Democrat Judy Chu and Republican Betty Chu, along with Libertarian Christopher M. Agrella, rose out of a field of 12 in Tuesday’s election to advance to a July runoff. Judy Chu’s campaign consultant, Parke Skelton, calls it “the Chu-Chu runoff.”
Judy, who outpolled Democratic state Sen. Gil Cedillo and six other party members, is considered the heavy favorite, given the district’s strong Democratic tilt.
The two women share a last name, a Chinese American heritage, extensive professional accomplishment and even a family connection. Betty is married to Judy’s first cousin. But from there, all political and personal paths diverge.
The race, peppered with harsh fliers and accusations that one Chu (Betty) was trying to confuse voters into thinking she was the better-known Chu (Judy), featured a frostiness that makes the upcoming runoff seem like a surreal family feud.
“They’re not friendly,” said Skelton. “Even less so now.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-congress21-2009may21,0,68991.story
Posted on 21-May-09 at 12:58 pm | Permalink
Tristan wrote:
If this Betty person indeed changed her hanzi to more closely resemble Dr. Chu, then that’s pretty effed up. Hopefully, the voting public is a little more savvy than she thinks.
How funny: Betty Brown criticizes Asians for having “difficult” names, while Betty Chu is attempting to gain advantage by exploiting hers.
Posted on 21-May-09 at 2:22 pm | Permalink
John wrote:
Seeking political lessons in 32nd District race
The Los Angeles Times. May 23, 2009
As Judy Chu emerges as the likely winner in the July 14 runoff for the heavily Democratic district, observers say newcomer Emanuel Pleitez cut into support for Gil Cedillo, who finished second.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-32nd-congress23-2009may23,0,6284608.story
Posted on 22-May-09 at 11:04 pm | Permalink
John wrote:
Chu’s win over Cedillo is rooted in the long-forgotten past
The Los Angeles Times. May 25, 2009
In a district where Latinos outnumber Asian Americans, 1 in 3 Latinos chose her for Congress, a sign of the great distance Latinos have come since Edward Roybal lost a race for supervisor in 1958.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tobar26-2009may26,0,2532988,full.column
Posted on 25-May-09 at 4:58 pm | Permalink
8Asians.com » Dr. Judy Chu Officially Wins US House Seat in California wrote:
[...] Back in May, Dr. Judy Chu lead the congested field of candidates in a special election for the recently vacated California 32nd District Congressional seat, setting up a run-off election amongst the leading Democratic, Republican and Libertarian candidates. On election night, Dr. Judy Chu overwhelmingly defeated her opponent (as expected in the heavily Democratic district): “With 173 of 209 precincts reporting Tuesday night, Chu had 14,115 votes, or 62 percent. She was trailed by her cousin by marriage, Republican Betty Chu, with 7,355 votes, or 32 percent. “I’m really proud and honored and humbled to have such an overwhelming vote,” Chu told The Associated Press from her victory party in Covina.” [...]
Posted on 15-Jul-09 at 9:54 am | Permalink
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