A special open primary election was held on June 1, 2001, of which Democratic Ambassador Diane Watson won nearly a third of the vote in a field of sixteen candidates.

She handily defeated her main challenger, Republican Noel Hentschel, in the general election.

Located mainly in the Culver City area of Los Angeles County, the 32nd district was considered a Democratic stronghold.

It voted strongly Democratic in the past few presidential elections, giving Al Gore a lead of 70 percentage points over George W. Bush in the 2000 election.

Before starting his twelfth term, of which he was elected to with 83.5% of the vote, he died in Los Angeles of a heart attack.