California Speaker Karen Bass (D) has quickly cemented her place as the heir apparent of retiring Rep. Diane Watson (D).

Bass, who already has the backing of Watson, picked up endorsements from abortion rights group EMILY’s List and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Also running in the Democratic primary are Felton Newell, a prosecutor in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, and military veteran Mervin Evans.

Conservative activist David Crowley is the only Republican who has filed to run for the seat, but the GOP is not expected to mount much of a challenge in the heavily Democratic district.

Barack Obama won 87 percent of the presidential vote in 2008, compared with just 12 percent for Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).