The Race for the 45th

The 45th Congressional district is a large one, stretching across Riverside County to include Moreno Valley, Hemet, much of the Coachella Valley and Blythe.

It has been represented by Mary Bono Mack since a 1998 special election to fill the seat of her late husband, former Palm Springs Mayor Sonny Bono.

California congressional districts were redrawn after the 2000 census, a move that designed to solidify a this as a Republican stronghold. The GOP used to have a double-digit percentage point advantage in registered voters and, despite the local Democrats’ best efforts, Bono Mack has consistently won re-election by large margins.

But Democrats argue 2010 could be different. Today, Republicans’ registered voters lead has been reduced to a 4 percentage point advantage over Democrats, with both parties continuing to focus on boosting their respective numbers with year-round voter registration drives. There are 361,550 registered voters district wide.

And the seat is one of eight California congressional districts represented by a Republican but won by Democrat Barack Obama in the November presidential election.

The 2010 race has already garnered national headlines, with both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee giving it lots of early attention.