A special general election was held on June 5, 2001, to elect a member of the United States House of Representatives from to replace Julian Dixon, who died on December 8, 2000, of a heart attack.
A special blanket primary was held on April 10, 2001, of which Democratic Ambassador Diane Watson won nearly a third of the vote in a field of sixteen candidates. She handily defeated her main challenger, Republican Noel Irwin Hentschel, in the special general election. Watson was redistricted to the for the 2002 election, in which she was elected to a full term.
Located mainly in the Culver City area of Los Angeles County, the 32nd district was considered a Democratic stronghold. It voted strongly Democratic in the past few presidential elections, giving Al Gore a lead of 70 percentage points over George W. Bush in the 2000 election.
Julian Dixon was first elected in 1978 to represent the . He never faced serious competition during his tenure, and would serve eleven terms. Before starting his twelfth term, to which he was elected with 83.5% of the vote, he died in Los Angeles of a heart attack.