California: Open Seats

As a result of the new maps there appear to be 7 open California seats. In the last six November elections (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) there have been 9 open seats. Of those, only 2, (CA-20 in 2004 and CA-4 in 2008) were competitive. That's going to change. When looking at the open seats, you might see a theme.

CA-2: San Rafael/Eureka
Status: Safe Democratic
Why is it vacant: Lynn Woolsey is retiring
Who's running: Four Democrats (Susan Adams, Jared Huffman, Tiffany Renee, Norman Solomon) have announced bids

CA-29: San Fernando/Van Nuys
Status: Safe Democratic
Why is it vacant: District too Hispanic for incumbent Brad Sherman
Who's running: Hispanic Democrat Tony Cardenas has announced a bid.

CA-32: El Monte/West Covina
Status: Safe Democratic
Why is it vacant: District is too Democratic and too Hispanic for incumbent David Dreier
Who's running: Roger Hernandez, a Hispanic Democrat, has announced a bid.

CA-35: Ontario/Fontana
Status: Safe Democratic
Why is it vacant: District is too Democratic for incumbent Gary Miller
Who's running: Gloria Negrete McLeod, a Hispanic Democrat has announced a bid, but I think Joe Baca will run here, making CA-31 and open seat

CA-41: Riverside/Moreno Valley
Status: Competitive
Why is it vacant: District moved to the east away from incumbent Linda Sanchez
Who's running: This is a Hispanic majority district. Republican John Tavaglione and Democrat Mark Takano are running. Neither is Hispanic, so expect at least one Hispanic candidate.

CA-47: Long Beach/Garden Grove
Status: Competitive
Why is it vacant: District is probably going to be competitive, so incumbent Laura Richardson is running in the safer CA-44.
Who's running: Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat, has announced a bid. Republicans will look for strong challenger. It's possible Democrat Linda Sanchez will move here and run.

CA-51: Chula Vista/El Centro
Status: Safe Democratic
Why is it vacant: District is too Hispanic for incumbent Bob Filner. So he's running for San Diego mayor.
Who's running: Hispanic Democrat Juan Vargas has announced a bid.

There may be other open districts, as all the incumbents haven't announced their intentions. Only two of these districts have the potential of being competitive, although both will favor Democrats. Did you notice a common theme? There likely will be five new Hispanic congressmen, bringing the total in the delegation to 13.

It's pretty clear who won the redistricting battle.