16 candidates face off for Calif. House seat

What's in doubt Tuesday is who will advance to an expected July 12 runoff between the top two finishers.

The coastal 36th Congressional District was carved out to elect Democrats, so the smart money is on the party's leading candidates, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, 59, and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, 55. They share similar political views, have six-figure campaign accounts and both have roots in a district that stretches from the famous Venice boardwalk through the playground of Manhattan Beach to the edge of the sprawling Los Angeles port.

But a projected low turnout in the little-noticed special election—only 15 percent to 20 percent of voters are expected to participate—makes the outcome less predictable.

That creates potential wild-card opportunities for school teacher Marcy Winograd, 57, a Democrat with an anti-war following who's run in the district before, and entertainment industry executive Daniel H. Adler, 48, another Democrat whose campaign is being run by "The Lord of the Rings" actor Sean Astin.

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