2005 California's 5th congressional district special election

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2005 California's 5th congressional district special election
Flag of California.svg
  2004 March 8, 2005 2006  
  Doris Matsui, official portrait, 111th Congress.jpg No image.svg
Nominee Doris Matsui Julie Padilla
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote56,1757,158
Percentage67.7%8.6%

U.S. Representative before election

Bob Matsui
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

Doris Matsui
Democratic

On March 8, 2005, a special election was held in the California's 5th congressional district to choose a U.S. Representative to replace Bob Matsui, who had died of pneumonia shortly after being re-elected in the 2004 elections. Matsui's wife, Doris, was quickly able to win support from the Democratic Party officials, and ended up winning over two-thirds of the vote in the special primary election, meaning a run-off would not be needed. As of 2021, this is the last time a widow succeeded their spouse in Congress. [lower-alpha 1]

Results

California's 5th congressional district special election, 2005 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Doris Matsui 56,175 67.65
Democratic Julie Padilla7,1588.62
Republican John Flynn6,5597.90
Republican Serge Chernay3,7424.51
Republican Michael O'Brien2,5913.12
Republican Shane Singh1,7532.11
Republican Bruce Stevens1,1241.35
Green Pat Driscoll9761.18
Independent Leonard Padilla9161.10
Democratic Charles Pineda6590.79
Libertarian Gale Morgan4510.54
Peace and Freedom John Reiger2860.34
Democratic Lara Shapiro (write-in)60.01
Invalid or blank votes6370.77
Total votes83,033 100.0
Turnout {{{votes}}}27.72
Democratic hold

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References

  1. In 2020, Luke Letlow was elected to represent Louisiana but died before he could be sworn in. The special election to fill his vacant seat was won by his widow, Julia Letlow.
  1. "Special Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.