Voters in California’s 25th Congressional District will begin to determine Tuesday who might succeed former U.S. Rep. Katie Hill (D) and represent an area adjacent to a major nuclear cleanup site.
The district, which includes parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, has been without a congressional representative since Hill resigned Nov. 1 rather than undergoing a House Ethics Committee investigation.
Two weeks after Hill’s resignation, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced an open primary for the seat on March 3, the same day as Super Tuesday presidential primaries and caucuses in California, 13 other states, and one U.S. territory. The special election in the 25th is scheduled for May 12.
The Ballotpedia website indicates there are six Democrats, six Republicans, and one independent on the bipartisan or jungle primary ballot. While designated a primary, the verdict could be decided Tuesday if any candidate wins more than half the vote. In the “likely” event that none of the group wins a majority of votes cast Tuesday, the top two contenders will advance to the May 12 runoff, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
Assemblywoman Christy Smith (D) seems to have backing from much of California’s Democratic Party establishment, the newspaper reported, with endorsements from Sen. Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Former Rep. Steve Knight, the Republican incumbent who Hill defeated last time around, is on the primary ballot.
Hill, in her first term, was subject to public allegations she engaged in a sexual relationship with a member of her staff, a violation of House rules.
During her brief congressional tenure, Hill won praise from groups such as Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles for advocacy of quicker remediation of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory cleanup site in Ventura County. The Energy Department, along with NASA and Boeing, are responsible for remediating 2,850-acre site contaminated by decades of rocket testing and nuclear energy research.
