Asian American leads Latino district in California: In an election that highlighted America's fluid racial landscape, an Asian American candidate emerged as the leading contender to fill a U.S. House seat in an overwhelmingly Hispanic district.
Democrat Judy Chu topped a field of 12 candidates Tuesday, making her the favorite to claim the seat in a July runoff. Democrats hold a more than 2-1 registration edge in the district.
If elected, she would be Southern California's only Asian American in Congress.
Voters looked beyond racial and ethnic identity and ``made their decisions based on who was best qualified and who had the deepest roots in the district,'' Chu said. ``I just think people heard my message about being a coalition builder.''
With all percent of precincts reporting, Chu had 31.9 percent, followed by fellow Democrat Gil Cedillo, a Hispanic state senator, with 23.4 percent.
Because no candidate cleared a majority, the top finishers in each party advance to a July 14 runoff.
