Cassandra Esparza Villarreal

On any given Sunday, Maebe A. Girl is getting ready to host and perform at a boozy drag brunch at Stache in West Hollywood. This time in mid-April, she’s rocking a short blonde bob, black platform pumps and a bright green crop top in honor of the 4/20 themed event. She takes her hosting duties seriously — urging the dozens of guests to throw their dollars at the queens as they perform. “No coins though!” she clarifies.

The only congressional district in Los Angeles County to be represented by a Republican is a natural focal point for Democrats who recognize control of the U.S. House is on the line. But on a recent Saturday morning in Palmdale with fewer than nine months until the midterm elections, only four Democrats showed up to talk to voters. One of them, who drove for over an hour from Sherman Oaks, was not even from the district.

Seven students in JOUR448, politics and government affairs reporting, took a reporting field trip to Texas ahead of Tuesday’s primary elections. There are nine Democrats hoping to replace Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who is retiring after 14 terms in Congress. The 30th District seat is in a strongly Democratic area, so no matter who wins the Republican primary, it’s a near certainty that one of the nine hopefuls will be headed to Washington.