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CA-36: Special Election Night HQ; UPDATE: Democrat Hahn Wins

Posted on | July 12, 2011 | 55 Comments

UPDATE 11:40 p.m. Pacific (2:40 a.m. Eastern): Democrat Janice Hahn won Tuesday’s special election in California’s 36th Congressional District, defeating Republican businessman Craig Huey.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Hahn had 41,585 votes (54.6%) to Huey’s 34,636 (45.4%).

After a long delay in the ballot count — frankly, I nodded off — the results went to 100% very quickly.

Linked by Uncoverage, PJ Tatler, and by The Lonely Conservative — thanks!

UPDATE 12:09 a.m. Pacific (3:09 a.m. Eastern): Hahn’s margin of victory was less than 10% in a district that Obama carried by 30% in 2008, perhaps indicating the “Obama fatigue” noted in a recent poll of the district.

First full MSM story of the result from David Catanese of Politico:

Democrat Janice Hahn defeated Republican Craig Huey in a bitterly contested Southern California special election marked by stinging attacks from both sides. . . .
Huey, who stunned political observers by upending Democratic Secretary of State Debra Bowen in the May primary, attempted to run mostly on a message of austerity. Hahn consistently framed Huey as a “right-wing extremist” whose views were out of place in the district, likening him to Sarah Palin.

UPDATE 12:55 a.m. Pacific (3:55 a.m. Eastern): From my report at The American Spectator:

Having defeated California Secretary of State Debra Bowen in a multi-candidate “jungle primary” in May, Hahn underperformed in Tuesday’s special election in a district where Harman had won re-election with 59% of the vote in November. And Hahn may be vulnerable when she comes up for re-election next year. “The district will be redrawn, along with others in California, before then, and most expect it to be at least somewhat less Democratic,” the Los Angeles Times noted.

UPDATE 1:25 a.m. Pacific (4:25 a.m. Eastern): The overnight election results thread at Ace of Spades HQ got interesting when “Phil” posted comment #368:

Ok, I know it’s customary to downplay results from “our side”, but I can honestly say I knew this was going to happen. I would have been absolutely shocked if we won here. Seriously folks, this is f–ing California. And with all apologies due to our native California morons, f– California. Seriously, pardon my french, but f– California. We don’t need that POS state. As the country went crimson red in 2010, California kept going further and further left, the only state to do so. Let the lib-f–s who live there enjoy thinking they are our betters, as jobs continue to leave the state in droves and it continues going down the tubes.
If you’re a moron who happens to live in California, LEAVE THE STATE ALREADY. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Your vote is just being wasted. And if you happen to own a business, make the move even sooner. Your profits will be up overnight and you’ll be providing less and less welfare to feed the liberal sh–hole that California has become.
Look, I get it — you love California. You’ve probably got some fond memories even. But be honest with yourself — you love what California USED to be, and hate what it’s become. And it’s only going to become more of what you hate going forward. It’s way too late to save it. Stop trying. Stop being in denial.
Tell your once great (and now sh–y state) to go pound sand and move out. Take my advice and thank me later.

“Phil” was utterly discredited when it was revealed he lived in the right-wing bastion of — wait for it — Illinois.

Say what you will about the political, demographic and economic trends in California, it’s got a lot more sunshine and palm trees than Illinois.

UPDATE 11:25 p.m. Pacific (2:25 a.m. Eastern): It appears that Democrat Janice Hahn is cruising to a solid win. With 127 of 261 precincts reporting:

Janice Hahn (D) ….. 30,545 (56.8%)
Craig Huey (R) ……. 23,207 (43.2%)

UPDATE 8:25 Pacific (11:25 Eastern): With 7 of 261 precincts reporting:

Janice Hahn (D) ….. 21,365 (54.2%)
Craig Huey (R) ……. 18,025 (45.8%)

PREVIOUSLY: Polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific time (that’s 11 p.m. Eastern) in California’s 36th Congressional District and we’ll have all the results here. This special election is to replace retiring Democrat Rep. Jane Harman, and Guy Benson at Townhall summarizes:

President Obama won this district by thirty points in 2008, and Harman sailed to a comfortable win in 2010. This should be a slam dunk, blow-out hold for Democrats — and yet, they’re reportedly worried.

How worried are Democrats? Janice Hahn is accusing Republicans of “voter suppression”:

As voters headed to the polls Tuesday to decide a hard-fought special congressional election in the South Bay area, attorneys for Democrat Janice Hahn filed complaints alleging that supporters of her opponent, Republican Craig Huey, were trying to suppress turnout of her voters.
In a letter sent Tuesday to the Los Angeles County district attorney, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles and the California attorney general, Hahn lawyers Stephen J. Kaufman and Steven J. Reyes asked for immediate investigations into “voter suppression actitivies” in the 36th Congressional District race.
The attorneys said several voters reported receiving telephone calls Monday night telling them the election had been postponed to Wednesday at Hahn’s request ,and others were given wrong polling place addresses.

Via Donald Douglas at American Power. Ace is hopeful. Via Jim Geraghty, here is Craig Huey’s closing TV ad:

UPDATE: Zombie at PJ Tatler:

Within the last 36 hours [Janice Hahn] and her staff . . .
• Falsely claimed a political endorsement from a local hero;
• Then lied about it when confronted with the truth that he didn’t endorse her;
• And then posted a stalker video of one of her “trackers” (Democratic agents who follow opponents around night and day, video cameras in hand) tailing Craig Huey in a parking lot as a process server tries to hand him some documents about a bogus back payment he supposedly owed.

UPDATE II: Welcome, Instapundit readers!

UPDATE III: Polls have now closed, but While still awaiting the first results, I was reading Mickey Kaus about how the Daily Kos was trying to spin their final poll in CA-36. Look, if Hahn wins by less than 10 points, that’s a huge GOP victory in this heavily Democrat-leaning district. If the margin is less than 5 points . . . Well, that’s hard to imagine. If Huey should somehow win, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

Linked by the Rhetorican — thanks!

PREVIOUSLY:


Category: California, Congress, Democrats, Election

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