LOS ANGELES — Voters can now cast their ballots in-person to fill the California State Senate seat vacated by Holly Mitchell when she was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in November.
Every registered voter in Senate District 30 should have received a ballot in the mail, and the deadline to return or mail them is March 2.
Seven candidates, including three Democrats, two Republicans, a Peace and Freedom Party candidate, and a candidate with no party preference are in the race to represent roughly one million residents of Culver City, Mar Vista, Century City, Ladera Heights, Exposition Park, South Los Angeles, Westmont, and portions of downtown Los Angeles and Inglewood.
If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff between the top two finishers will be held May 4.
Mitchell’s former staffer and friend, Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager, is widely seen as the frontrunner in the firmly Democratic district. If she wins, she will be the only Black woman serving in the state Senate.
“I’ve gotten so much support from mothers, working mothers, and women of color who want to see a woman in the Senate,” Kamlager said.
The first Black man to ever be elected to Culver City’s City Council is running to her left. Vice Mayor Daniel Lee is part of a Bernie Sanders-inspired grassroots insurgency hoping to bring more progressive reforms, like single-payer health care, to California. He's been endorsed by the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
“I’m a very passionate advocate of health care as a human right and housing as a human right,” Lee said.
Retired business owner and political newcomer Joe Lisuzzo is hoping anti-Newsom sentiment and lockdown frustrations will propel his candidacy. He explained that the current leadership has failed at solving California’s spiraling homeless crisis.
"Democrat or Republican, it makes no difference," said Lisuzzo. "This is a humanitarian issue. That’s why I’m in this. I know the odds are against me."
County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said voting centers will remain open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for in-person voting or to drop off vote-by-mail ballots. All participating vote centers will follow public health and safety guidelines.