On July 14, California will fill the vacant U.S. House seat, 32nd district. The three ballot-listed candidates will be Democrat Judy Chu, Republican Betty Chu, and Libertarian Christopher Agrella.

California held an election in this seat on May 19, under blanket primary rules (California partisan special elections always use blanket primary rules). No one got 50% on May 19, so the top vote-getter from each party advances to the run-off. The May 19 ballot included 8 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and one Libertarian. The 32nd district seat is vacant because incumbent Hilda Solis had accepted an appointment into President Obama’s cabinet.

On May 19, California held a special election to fill the vacant State Senate seat in the 26th district. The results: Democratic Assemblyman Curren Price 70.44%; Republican Nachum Shifren 21.12%; Peace & Freedom member Cindy Varela Henderson 8.43%.

Henderson’s showing is the best Peace & Freedom Party showing in a California legislative race (excluding races with only a single major party candidate) since 1978, when PFP polled 9.90% in a Santa Cruz Assembly race.

Henderson is a telephone technician. See her campaign website here. The 26th district includes part of Hollywood, as well as Baldwin Hills, Silver Lake, Culver City, and other parts of Los Angeles County.

Here is the brief for former State Senator Rosalind Kurita of Tennessee, in her lawsuit challenging the authority of the Tennessee Democratic Party to rule that she was not the party’s nominee, even though she had won the August 2008 State Senate primary. The case is Kurita v State Primary Board of the Tennessee Democratic Party, 08-6245. The Tennessee Democratic Party had noted that some individuals believed to be Republicans had voted in that primary. Tennessee does not have registration by party.