Lining up for Fabian's job

There is no shortage of candidates looking to replace Speaker Fabian Nunez now that the voters have rejected the term limits modifications that would have kept him in the Assembly past December. Shane Goldmacher at the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert surveys the field, which includes a number of Los Angeles legislators:

Karen Bass, termed out 2010
The skinny: Bass is well regarded by her colleagues, but there are questions about her commitment to remain in the Assembly long enough to run for speaker. Instead, the Los Angeles Democrat could run for the Los Angeles City Council or state Senate. A June primary to replace L.A. County Supervisor Yvonne Burke will leave one of those two seats open.

Kevin de León, termed out 2012
The skinny: De León is the potential Assembly leader who is most closely linked to Núñez – the two met in the ninth grade in the San Diego barrio of Logan Heights and have been best friends ever since....His closeness to Núñez has been his biggest asset – he was introduced around the Capitol as a Friend of Fabian even before his election in 2006 – but could also prove a liability, as some Assembly members, particularly those who haven’t fared as well under the Núñez regime, could be ready for a change of the guard.

Hector De La Torre, termed out 2010
The skinny: De La Torre currently serves as chairman of the powerful Assembly Rules Committee, which assigns bills to policy committees and enforces Assembly rules and operations. The 41-year-old hails from South Gate, where the politics are uniquely rough and tumble. De La Torre could be hurt by the fact that he – like Karen Bass and Alberto Torrico – is termed out in two years.

Mike Feuer, termed out 2012
The skinny: Feuer raised less money than any other lawmaker on this list ($322,000 in 2007), but he did so without the benefit of a major committee chairmanship in the Assembly. That’s because the former Los Angeles City Council member isn’t a part of the current speaker’s leadership team, which could either boost or hinder his own chances at the job.

On the Senate side, Goldmacher writes "Sen. Darrell Steinberg is the early favorite over Sen. Alex Padilla among Democrats."

Zogby explains it all: Of all the pollsters that got it wrong about California, John Zogby may have been the wrongiest. He had Obama drubbing Clinton by 16 points, and Romney beating McCain here by 7 points. He does the mea culpa today in an email: