The political world is watching closely today as voters in California’s 50th Congressional District go to the polls in a special election to replace Randy “Duke” Cunningham.

Cunningham, you may recall, became a poster-child for the Republican “Culture of Corruption” when he was sentenced to eight years in prison for bribery and tax evasion earlier this year. His district is pretty solidly Republican, but Francine Busby, a Democrat who is one of 18 candidates trying to replace Cunningham, has a good deal of momentum and has received strong backing from the liberal blogosphere and the Democratic Party.

Most experts are saying a win today by Busby is still a long-shot, but if she does win it will be taken as a sign that Democrats are right in thinking they can retake the House this fall:

“If Busby wins, that would be the political equivalent of a tectonic shift,” said Amy Walter, senior editor at the Washington-based Cook Political Report. “The next story you would hear is this is the first rumblings in what would be a major earthquake in November.”

I’ll post again when we know the results.