California State Assembly member Laura Richardson, a pro-choice Democrat, won her party’s primary yesterday for the special election to fill the seat of the late Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald, who died away suddenly in April. The district, which covers parts of Los Angeles and Long Beach, has historically elected African-American Democrats — like Richardson — to fill the seat, the Daily Breeze, a Southern Californian newspaper, reports.
Two other Democratic women also ran for the seat in the primary. Richardson’s closest contender, State Senator Jenny Oropeza, had the support of the Democratic Party and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, while Richardson won a nod from EMILY’s List. Oropeza conceded after a close race, saying of Richardson, “I wish her all the success in the world’I encourage everyone here to get behind her 100 percent as the congressperson. We share core Democratic values,” the Long Beach Press Telegram reports.
