On the heels of news that then-Congresswoman Jane Harman was retiring from the U.S. House of Representatives, our firm’s co-founder, Dave Jacobson, managed and spearheaded then-L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s masterful victory in the 2011 special election to fulfill the old 36th Congressional District seat. The nationally-watched race was unique in the sense that it was California’s first open jungle primary in the state’s history, where it was conducted in a top-two manner. 

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Hahn, an underdog candidate herself, defied conventional wisdom that then high-profile Secretary of State, and former longtime state lawmaker for the region, Debra Bowen, would win the race. Jacobson led Hahn’s successful campaign, and not only bested Bowen, but also outperformed 15 other primary candidates, including other Democrats, as well as Republicans and Green Party competitors.  

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The Los Angeles Times summarized the general election, in which Hahn faced off against multi-millionaire Tea Party Republican Craig Huey, as "a hard-fought special Congressional election marked by sharp divisions in ideology and even sharper personal attacks."  Despite an onslaught of money spent by her opponent, "Hahn took 55 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting... compared with 45 percent for Huey," wrote Roll Call.  In their post election wrap-up piece, POLITICO wrote, "Hahn emerged with a win despite an aggressive campaign by [Craig] Huey, a wealthy tea partier who poured $883,000 of his own money into the effort after a surprise second-place primary finish vaulted him into the runoff."