Posted on 04/11/2006 12:16:46 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SAN DIEGO - Eighteen candidates in a solidly GOP district on the Southern California coast competed in a special election Tuesday for the congressional seat once held by Randy "Duke" Cunningham, now in prison for bribery.
Brian Bilbray, a former congressman-turned-lobbyist who was the choice of the GOP establishment; Republican businessman Eric Roach, who spent $1.8 million of his own money; and Democrat Francine Busby were considered the front-runners.
Cunningham represented the House district from 1993 until he resigned in disgrace late last year. In March, the former Vietnam War fighter ace was sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors.
Tuesday's race had a wide-open ballot, with 14 Republicans, two Democrats, one Libertarian and one independent. If no one got more than 50 percent of the vote, the top finisher from each party would compete in a runoff June 6.
The winner will serve out the remaining eight months of Cunningham's term, and will almost certainly try to hold on to the seat come November.
Republicans outnumber Democrats 3-to-2 in the wealthy district.
If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top finisher from each party competes in a June 6 contest, the same day as the primary for the midterm congressional elections.
An outright winner Tuesday or, more likely, the winner of the June contest takes a seat in Congress for the remaining eight months of Cunningham's term — and likely immediately begins campaigning to hold on to the seat come November.
With the GOP field crowded, Democrats hoped that Busby, who ran and lost to Cunningham in 2004, could score an upset, a prospect that her own campaign acknowledged was unlikely.
Voters faced an onslaught of negative campaign mailers and TV ads in the final hours before heading to the polls.
Bilbray, a surfer and one-time lifeguard, was attacked in a mailer from the California Republican Assembly, a grass-roots conservative group, that called Bilbray "a Democrat posing as a Republican."
The Bilbray campaign attacked Roach as a mystery man trying to buy an election. "His political campaign ads and mailers are everywhere. But until a few months ago, no one had ever heard of him," Bilbray's mailer said.
Former state Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian's campaign attempted to recover from an embarrassing misstep. Internet bloggers discovered that photos on his campaign Web site purportedly showing a tranquil Iraqi street scene had been taken in Istanbul, Turkey. The photos were removed.
With the GOP field busy attacking itself, national Republicans poured some $300,000 during the campaign's final week into TV ads criticizing Busby for accepting donations from lobbyists. A mailer from national Republicans claimed that the school board member and self-described soccer mom had voted to lay off teachers in 2003.
Busby retaliated by noting that Cunningham had given $2,000 of his campaign funds to national Republicans before he headed off to prison.
He's a full fledged tree hugger and the gun-grabbers and abortionists like him too! What a winner, huh?
Not that far from downtown. I live in the heart of the city just up from downtown.
There are over 30,000 people living in the middle of downtown with all the highrise condos. There are dozens,
most 25 to 42 stories high and several still being built.
They go from half a million to over 4 million a unit.
The GOP here has never recovered from Wilson being Gov in California, from his tax increases to his 187 getting tossed by the court and now we have Wilson 2 or re-pete in office trying to coddle the muddled masses and actually being supportive of amnesty for illegals. can DLs for illegals be far off?
california politics sure is a funny beast, huh?.
Sounds New Majority to a T..
Pete tried to do something about the illegals and was drug through the mud. I saw the marches first hand.
Just as I saw first hand the 50,000 that marched here Sun.
22.2 percent in:
FRANCINE BUSBY
33399
42.88%
BRIAN P. BILBRAY
11826
15.18%
ERIC ROACH
10848
13.93%
HOWARD KALOOGIAN
5499
7.06%
BILL MORROW
5052
6.49%
bump
so it looks like she will stay under 45% which means she can't get there in June.
Oh , I agree with his trying to do what he did then, I have other issues with him, but agree something needed to be done. Too bad courts decided that they knew best and screwed us all in the end, literally , and here we are..
Here's hoping that fiasco is never repeated.
I only had about 20,ooo in the streets a few miles away yesterday up here in East San Jose. I avoided the area entirely.
She could win in June if Republicans stay home.
We don't need the beginning of a Dem majority in congress
as they would also hold the edge on committeeies and kiss off
any further conservatives on sup court
I agree. We have absentee voting always so I don't even get a little "I voted" sticker! :-(
I was with a group that were counter protesting.
It got ugly at times.
Why are you posting to yourself on your own thread regarding this election? Are we all persona non gratias now? It is sad to isolate yourself in that way. Life isn't all about Arnold. Chill out, and join the fun. Just a suggestion.
Just said 1,000 votes seperate Bilbray & Roach and counting
What channel are you watching?
It's a sad state of affairs when a country is so easily rattled by a bunch of folks who see the law as just one more thing to be avoided or modified so they can get or keep a free ride.
It definitely says a lot about the countries they are fleeing from and their own leadership or lack thereof.
I'm having a terrible time...can't find numbers for your 50th or my State Senate seat in OC...neither Reg of V website have a thing...maybe I'm just frustrated period and can't find it...help?
FO's chip implant will explode if she isn't all about aRnie all the time. ;-)
That district is not going to elect any more Randy "Duke" Cunninghams for the foreseeable future.
It is becoming more and more liberal as the demographics shift.
One of the reasons for this is the untenable (undeclared) invasion that's taking place right now.
Brian Bilbray is perhaps the only candidate who can do something to stem this tide.
I would love to see Tom Tancredos elected in every congressional district, but that is simply not going to happen.
However, electing someone who shares Tancredo's-or Lamar Smith's-views on immigration is possible, and that's what we-as conservatives-should be working towards.
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