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City Councilwoman and Democrat Janice Hahn has defeated Republican small business owner Craig Huey in the runoff election to fill the vacant Congressional District 36 seat. Hahn brought in 54.56% of the vote, leaving Huey with 45.44%.
The battle was "hard fought," says the L.A. Times, however, the New York Times calls not just Hahn's win, but the entire race kind of weaksauce, comparing it to another runoff in their neck of the woods:
Ms. Hahn’s 9-percentage-point margin of victory, however, is underwhelming in a district where Democrats have an 18-point registration advantage. he race had received considerably less media attention than the special election in New York’s 26th Congressional District in May, a Republican-leaning district in which Democrats also won under considerably more difficult circumstances.
Ultimately, the districts will be redrawn prior to the next federal election, and it's likely the area Hahn will now represent will be less Democratic than now, signaling a tough fight in CA-36 to help keep Barack Obama in the White House come fall 2012.
