Some Could Be Especially Interesting

Most of California’s legislative and congressional seats lean strongly in favor of one party. Though that can make November’s results a foregone conclusion, it can lead to interesting primary contests. Here are some to watch:

* Assembly District 42: In Brentwood, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Sherman Oaks, Democrats Mike Feuer and Abbe Land are battling for Assemblyman Paul Koretz’s seat in a district where a primary victory virtually guarantees election in November. Feuer, 48, is a former Los Angeles city councilman; Land, 50, was co-executive director of the Los Angeles Free Clinic.

* Assembly District 43: Democrats Paul Krekorian and Frank Quintero are running for the seat held by termed-out Democratic Assemblyman Dario Frommer, who represents Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood, Silver Lake and Los Feliz. Krekorian, 46, of Burbank is an attorney. Quintero, 60, of Glendale is a five-year city councilman.

* Assembly District 48: Three Democrats are sparring to replace Mark Ridley-Thomas in this Central and South Los Angeles district. Mike Davis, 47, is a senior deputy to county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. Edward R. Turner, 52, is a sheriff’s deputy. Anthony Willoughby, 49, is an attorney supported by Ridley-Thomas.

* Senate District 26: Sen. Kevin Murray is being termed out this year, prompting a contest between two Democrats for the district that stretches from Century City to USC and from South L.A. to the Hollywood Hills. Mark Ridley-Thomas, 50, was elected to the Assembly after 11 years on the Los Angeles City Council. His Democratic opponent, Marvin Columbus McCoy, 29, is a business consultant.

* Senate District 28: Democrats Jenny Oropeza and George Nakano seek to replace Sen. Debra Bowen in this district, which starts near the ports and refineries of Wilmington and reaches north to Venice and West Los Angeles. Nakano, 70, of Torrance represented the South Bay in the Assembly for three terms. Oropeza, 48, served on the Long Beach school board and City Council before her election to the Assembly in 2000.

* Senate District 30: Two legislators who oversee banking and prisons -- Democratic Assemblymen Ron Calderon and Rudy Bermudez -- are vying to fill Sen. Martha Escutia’s seat on the county’s eastern front. Calderon succeeded his brother, Tom, in his Assembly district. Another brother, former state Sen. Charles Calderon, is running for Ron’s Assembly seat.

* Congressional District 36: Veteran congressional powerhouse Rep. Jane Harman of Venice and upstart English teacher Marcy Winograd are competing in a race whose primary issue has been the Iraq war, with Winograd arguing that Harman has been insufficiently resistant to the Bush administration.