Solis Finally Confirmed

Rep. Hilda Solis was finally confirmed yesterday as President Barack Obama's Secretary of Labor. That means that, within two weeks, the governor will have to set a special election to fill the remainder of Solis' term. Most likely, he'll consolidate this special election with the statewide special election to borrow more money and consider several referenda that were part of the recently passed state budget deal.

That changes the dynamics of the race a bit. Turnout will probably be slilghtly higher for a statewide special election than it would have been for just the congressional election. But whether that will help Cedillo or Chu is not clear. If the special election appeals more to Republicans than Democrats, that could boost the Republican minority's turnout in the district, and that would probably help Chu (because of Cedillo's outspoken advocacy of drivers licenses for illegal immigrants). Alternatively, it may dilute the effect of labor's get out the vote efforts, since they may end up having to work statewide rather just in the 32nd District. That would probably help Cedillo.

Still, Judy Chu's ridiculously long list of endorsements may more than make up for the effect on Labor.