2007 California's 37th congressional district special election

none February 2026 September 2022 2007 California's 37th congressional district special election California by-election no 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in California#District 37 2006 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in California#District 37 2008 August 21, 2007 CA 37 Laura Richardson, official portrait, 111th Congress.jpg Laura Richardson Democratic Party (United States) 15,559 65.6% 3x4.svg John Kanaley Republican Party (United States) 5,837 24.6% 3x4.svg Daniel Brezenoff Green Party (United States) 1,274 5.4% U.S. Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald Democratic Party (United States) Laura Richardson Democratic Party (United States) California's 37th congressional district special election, 2007 was held on August 21, 2007, to replace the seat of Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, who died of cancer on April 22, 2007.Peter Prengaman https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/22/AR2007042200784.html?hpid=moreheadlines Rep. Millender-McDonald Dies of Cancer 2007-04-23 2008-07-14 Associated Press via The Washington Post California State Assemblymember Laura Richardson received the plurality of votes in an open primary election on June 26. Since no candidate won a majority of votes in that contest, the special election was held on August 21, in which Richardson was the winner. Background The district has been historically Democratic. In the 2004 Presidential election, John Kerry received 74% of the vote and George W. Bush received 25% of the vote. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of D +27. The district's high African American and Mexican American populations also make the district lean Democrat because those groups have tended to vote with the Democrats. It came as little surprise when Republican John M. Kanaley received 5,309 votes or 25.24% of the total. After the June 26 election, various articles that appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the Long Beach Press-Telegram all but declared Richardson the eventual winner (see references below). A spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee told The Hill that the committee had no plans to get involved in the election.http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/oropeza-enters-race-for-late-rep.s-seat-2007-05-02.html https://web.archive.org/web/20080614094523/http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/oropeza-enters-race-for-late-rep.s-seat-2007-05-02.html dead June 14, 2008 Oropeza enters race for late rep.'s seat May 3, 2007 The Hill 2007-05-03 Despite making claims to originally stay out of the Congressional race, the Democratic Party endorsed Oropeza on May 19, 2007. Oropeza took 119 of the 168 ballots cast by party delegates, or 71 percent, reaching the 60 percent threshold needed to win the party's endorsement . Richardson accused Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata of having "dumped 130 people here" from outside the district to throw the democratic party vote to Oropeza . In the race, Perata supported fellow State Senator Oropeza. Richardson was endorsed by several California State Assembly members that included Speaker Fabian Nunez, Majority Leader Karen Bass, Assembly member Mervyn Dymally, and former Speaker Willie Brown. The Black vote McDonald won only two votes from party delegates at the Democratic party endorsement. The vast majority of black delegates in attendance voted for Richardson, while Oropeza won all but a few of the Latino, white and Filipino delegates. Blacks make up roughly 25% of registered voters. Many black leaders saw this election as a test of their political clout. As Millender-McDonald was Black, Black leaders wanted to hang onto the congressional seat that had been held by an African-American, even as the seat's Latino population has grown rapidly. Black Congresswoman Maxine Waters also endorsed Richardson, as did many black state representatives. The McDonald factor Originally, the membership of the Congressional Black Caucus was divided between those who supported Richardson and those who supported Valerie McDonald, daughter of the late Millender-McDonald. McDonald was backed by US Congresswoman Diane Watson and some local churches and other political leaders. McDonald is the executive director of the African American Women Health and Education Foundation in Carson, a nonprofit founded by her mother. Some black leaders feared that the two black candidates would split the vote and lead to an Oropeza victory. Polls that were conducted began to justify that fear. Seeing this fact, many Black leaders began to rally around and throw their support to Richardson over McDonald. The Latino vote While the growing Latino vote represented 40% of the district's population, the Latino vote was about 21%.Rojas, Aurelio. "Ethnic tensions underlie House race in south state; An African American and Latino vie in a 'black' district where the bulk of the residents are Latino." Sacramento Bee. May 13, 2007. Accessed July 16, 2007 Most major Latino leaders and organizations, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, also supported Orepeza. Labor versus Indian gaming The race can also be seen as a contest between two of California's interest groups: Labor and Indian gaming. The two groups clashed over five tribal compacts that would double the number of slot machines at Indian casinos. Labor groups fought the compacts because they believed the compacts did not adequately protect workers. Richardson had strong financial support from organized labor that included the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, which provided volunteers to walk precincts and make phone calls in the final days of the race. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor spent $275,000 on Richardson's campaign and put more than 1,000 union members on the street, made 45,000 phone calls and distributed 166,000 pieces of mail.Mitchell, John L. "Racial issues take a back seat in 37th'Multiracial support has Laura Richardson poised to represent a largely Latino district. Her take: `We are a new America, very diverse.'" Los Angeles Times. July 3, 2007. Accessed July 16, 2007. Oropeza voted for the compacts. The tribes showed their gratitude by spending $457,000 of independently on television ads in Oropeza's support. Morongo Band of Mission Indians spent $440,000 alone. Candidates Democratic Lee Davis - publisher Mervin Evans - Army veteran, businessman, and frequent candidate Felicia Ford - Corporate Executive Officer Bill Francisco Grisolia - Paralegal/Businessman Peter Mathews University Professor Valerie McDonald - daughter of deceased Rep. Millender-McDonald Jenny Oropeza - State Senator, 2007–Present; State Assemblywoman, 2001–2007; Long Beach City Councilmember, 1995–2001 George Parmer Jr. - truck driver Jeffrey Price - Workers Compensation Attorney Laura Richardson - State Assemblywoman, 2007–Present, Long Beach Councilmember, 2001–2005 Ed Wilson - Signal Hill Councilmember, 1997–Present Republican Leroy Joseph Guillory - minister John M. Kanaley - War Veteran Jeffrey "Lincoln" Leavitt - teacher Teri Ramirez - Businesswoman/mother Green Daniel Abraham Brezenoff - Clinical social worker and activist Libertarian Herb Peters - Retired aerospace engineer Polling Source Date Kanaley (R) McDonald (D) Oropeza (D) Ramirez (R) Richardson (D) Wilson (D)Fairbanks, Maslin, Maulin, and AssociatesFairbanks, Maslin, Maulin, and AssociatesJun 5–7, 2007 5% 7% 16% 2% 25% 2%Greenberg Quinlan Rosner ResearchGreenberg Quinlan Rosner ResearchMay 17–22, 2007 N/A 16% 27% N/A 24% N/ADavid Binder ResearchDavid Binder ResearchMay 5–6, 2007 N/A 17% 26% N/A 13% N/A Results Of the 25 candidates who originally filed, 17 appeared on the ballot; running were eleven Democrats, four Republicans, one Green, and one Libertarian. California's 37th congressional district special primary, 2007http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Special/cd37/official_canvass_cd37_primary.pdf Special Election Results 2008-04-24 2007-07-02 Secretary of State of California https://web.archive.org/web/20080424034247/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Special/cd37/official_canvass_cd37_primary.pdf 2008-04-24 dead Democratic Party (United States) Laura Richardson 11,956 36.5 Democratic Party (United States) Jenny Oropeza 9,960 30.4 Democratic Party (United States) Valerie McDonald 3,027 9.2 Republican Party (United States) John Kanaley 2,425 7.4 Democratic Party (United States) Peter Mathews 1,125 3.4 Republican Party (United States) Teri Ramirez 612 1.9 Green Party (United States) Daniel Brezenoff 391 1.2 Republican Party (United States) Jeffrey Leavitt 386 1.2 Democratic Party (United States) Albert Robles (write-in) 363 1.1 Democratic Party (United States) Ed Wilson 362 1.1 Republican Party (United States) L. J. Guillory 361 1.1 Libertarian Party (United States) Herb Peters 342 1.0 Democratic Party (United States) George Parmer 242 0.7 Democratic Party (United States) Lee Davis 202 0.6 Democratic Party (United States) Jeffrey Price 142 0.4 Democratic Party (United States) Bill Grisolia 141 0.4 Democratic Party (United States) Felicia Ford 122 0.4 Democratic Party (United States) Marvin Evans 29 0.1 548 1.7 32,736 100.0 12.3 California's 37th congressional district special election, 2007http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Special/cd37/final_canvass_cd37_general.pdf Special Election Results 2008-04-24 2007-08-30 Secretary of State of California https://web.archive.org/web/20080424034334/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/Special/cd37/final_canvass_cd37_general.pdf 2008-04-24 dead Democratic Party (United States) Laura Richardson 15,559 65.6 Republican Party (United States) John Kanaley 5,837 24.6 Green Party (United States) Daniel Brezenoff 1,274 5.4 Libertarian Party (United States) Herb Peters 538 2.3 Independent (politician) Lee Davis (write-in) 12 0.1 Independent (politician) Christopher Remple (write-in) 1 0.0 485 2.0 23,706 100.0 9.0 Democratic Party (United States) Analysis While race was a factor in the results of the election, some Blacks voters and leaders supported Orepeza, and some Latino voters and leaders backed Richardson. Richardson's victory in the primary depended on Black voters, but final results showed that Richardson won over many Latino voters and leaders.Mitchell, John L. "Racial issues take a back seat in 37th;Multiracial support has Laura Richardson poised to represent a largely Latino district. Her take: `We are a new America, very diverse.'" Los Angeles Times. July 3, 2007. Accessed July 17, 2007 Current population estimate in California projects a large increase in the Latino population in California over the next 40 years, while the population of Blacks, Asian Americans, and Whites as a percentage of total population is expected to declineLin, Judy. "California boomin' Dramatic changes in demographics as seen coming by midcentury." Sacramento Bee. Tuesday, July 10, 2007. Page A1. Laura Richardson during her victory speech: "It's not just about money and it's not just about the number of years you've served. It's about what's in your heart" . Oropeza and Richardson released polls, each showing that person in the lead . Richardson was a former aide to Millender-McDonald. She used a mailing, just days before the primary, to criticize Orepeza for missing votes, but did not mention that Oropeza missed these votes because she was being treated for cancer. Two other mailers also targeted Oropeza "for taking pay raises and claiming to have a bachelor's degree from Cal State Long Beach, when, in fact, she had failed to get credit for two classes, leaving her without a diploma.""CA:37 Orepeza, Richardson Lead Ahead of Tuesday's Special Election." Bulletin New Network, Inc. The Frontrunner. June 25, 2007. Accessed July 16, 2007. Richardson pledged on a cable TV Public-access television show candidate debate that she will not vote for any new funding for the Iraq war. After being elected, she said she had not made up her mind how she would vote. See also List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives External links Candidate web sites Democratic Peter Mathews for Congress web site Jenny Oropeza for Congress web site Laura Richardson for Congress web site Ed Wilson for Congress web site Green Daniel Brezenoff for Congress web site Libertarian Herb Peters for Congress web site Republican John Kanaley for Congress web site References https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210432/http://www.oropeza4congress.com/endorsements.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20070701000708/http://www.laurarichardsonforcongress.com/ https://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-race27jun27,1,2407506.story?coll=la-headlines-california http://launionaflcio.org/news/07_06_27-Unions-Help-Elect-Richardson.php http://smartvoter.org/sv/2007/08/21/ca/la/ballot.html California 2007 37 California 2007 37 2007 37 Special California 37 Special United States House of Representatives 37 Special