1 Week Until Special Election

In just one week, Hermosa Beach voters and others in the 36th Congressional District will elect either  or as their representative.

Polls open at 7 a.m. on July 12 for the special general election to fill the seat that became vacant after  that she was leaving office to join a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. 

In May, Hahn secured her place in the upcoming general election by earning 15,647 votes (24.6 percent) in a 36th Congressional District primary election. Huey followed with 14,116 votes (22.2 percent), which also landed him in the runoff election.

The election was one of the first real applications of California's new "top two" election system, which went into effect Jan. 1 after voters endorsed the changes when they passed Proposition 14.

Under the new rules, if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in a primary, then the top two finishers (Hahn and Huey) face each other in a special general election, even if they are from the same party.

While some locals and political analysts were surprised to see Huey beat out California Secretary of State Debra Bowen for the second spot in the July general election, campaign fundraising figures could have predicted the outcome.

One week before the May primary election, Hahn reported raising the most money out of the Democratic candidates with $423,719. Huey reported the most money overall with contributions and loans of $515,905.

Just as Hahn and Huey led the polls in May, as well—but in one week, only one of them will lead the district.

Earlier Patch coverage of the 36th Congressional District special election: