Today voters in California’s 36th district will go to the polls to elect a successor to former Congresswoman Jane Harman. The district is heavily Democratic (in 2008 President Obama won 64% of the vote) and most observers had expected it to be a dull affair from a partisan standpoint.

In fact under California law it was possible for the race to boil down to 2 Democrats. The rules are that you hold an initial vote with all candidates of all parties on the ballot and if nobody gets 50% of the vote there is a runoff between the top 2 vote getters (regardless of party).

The early assumption had been those two would be California Secretary of State Bowen against LA City Council Member Hahn. But Bowen came in 3rd, narrowly behind Republican businessman Craig Huey.

At that point the assumption was Hahn would clobber Huey in the runoff.

But recent polling says otherwise, with observers saying the contest is in single digits. A poll by Daily Kos showed the race within 8 points and their polls tend to tilt Democratic.

Hahn may also be hurt by the fact that the district has a base of hard core liberals who may find her too ‘establishment’.

My guess is Hahn will still win. It’s a Democratic district and the party has been alerted to the close race. In fact I wouldn’t be shocked if she wins by double digits, since Democrats have shown better turnout skills in recent special elections.

But things could get interesting, and an upset is not out of bounds.

Keep your eyes on this race as returns come in tonight.