2001 California's 32nd congressional district special election

2001 California's 32nd congressional district special election

← 2000 June 5, 2001 (2001-06-05) 2002 →

California's 32nd congressional district
Turnout15.27%
 
Nominee Diane Watson Noel Hentschel
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 72,995 19,403
Percentage 74.8% 19.9%

U.S. Representative before election

Julian Dixon
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Diane Watson
Democratic

A special election was held on June 5, 2001, to elect a member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 32nd congressional district to replace Julian Dixon, who died on December 8, 2000, of a heart attack.

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. Watson was redistricted to 33rd district for the 2002 election, in which she was re-elected.