[1] California State Assemblymember Laura Richardson received the plurality of votes in an open primary election on June 26.

Since no candidate won a majority of votes in that contest, the special election was held on August 21, in which Richardson was the winner.

After the June 26 election, various articles that appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the Long Beach Press-Telegram all but declared Richardson the eventual winner (see references below).

Richardson accused Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata of having "dumped 130 people here" from outside the district to throw the democratic party vote to Oropeza [2].

McDonald is the executive director of the African American Women Health and Education Foundation in Carson, a nonprofit founded by her mother.

The two groups clashed over five tribal compacts that would doubled the number of slot machines at Indian casinos.

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor spent $275,000 on Richardson's campaign and put more than 1,000 union members on the street, made 45,000 phone calls and distributed 166,000 pieces of mail.

[4] Of the 25 candidates who originally filed, 17 appeared on the ballot; running were eleven Democrats, four Republicans, one Green, and one Libertarian.

The absentee ballot drives were a part of both sides campaign strategies because of the expected low turnout.