2:33pm | Long Beach representative in the State Assembly Bonnie Lowenthal will run for the State Senate seat of her ex-husband, Alan Lowenthal, when he leaves office in 2012, according to the Press-Telegram. She has formed a campaign committee and is already preparing for the primary election next June.

Lowenthal will face fellow Assemblymember Tony Mendoza and possibly others in the Democratic primary for the seat.

Lowenthal was only recently re-elected to her State Assembly seat this past November, with 56.6% of the vote over challenger Martha Flores Gibson. But as the Press-Telegram’s Paul Eakins points out, today’s announcement will almost certainly signal a political earthquake as past and present public officials rush for Lowenthal’s 54th District Assembly seat:

Former 7th District Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, who unsuccessfully ran against Lowenthal for the 54th Assembly seat in 2008, said Thursday that she had already formed an exploratory committee to run for the office again.

Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell said he too is considering running and that he finds the opportunity “intriguing.”

Second District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal said “it’s really too soon to say” whether she would run, noting that the state will be redrawing the districts this summer, but she didn’t rule out the possibility.

How will the departure of Bonnie Lowenthal from her Assembly seat affect Long Beach politics locally? Click here to read the full Press-Telegram article.