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.
I have stayed up to make certain.
Thanks.
It's the same reason I admire Tom Tancredo, and his colleauge from CO. Marilyn Musgrave, and Lamar Smith, and James Sensenbrenner, and anyone else in the sleazy, decadent Capitol Hill sub-culture that's willing to bear the slings and arrows of bad publicity and the condemnation of anti-American, Marxist idiotarians in order to stand up for this nation.
94% of the today votes in, and maybe 98% of all the votes in. It's over.
If you think that's putting someone down you need to get our more. It was nothing of the kind. I want to know if he has any connection to the campaign or the candidate because of the effusive language used to describe Bilbray and his unwillingness to defend his extreme positive claims when challenged earlier.
Are you Mr. K or something? Heck, I'm Bilbray himself! I skipped my campaign party to post here tonight. Who knew?
Bump!
The 50th though not as conservative as it use to be
still was not impressed with the more conservative
candidates. K came across as a very agitated person.
I think June will be close and if Busby wins, this will
set the national dems off on a roll for further wins.
I would rather see Brian there than Busby and what that would lead to.
http://bilbrayforcongress.com/issues/immigration/
For the last 3 years as a Co-Chairman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, America's preeminent illegal immigration reform advocate, I have lobbied for many essential reforms in our immigration laws to carry on the work that I began when the voters of San Diego County sent me to Congress in 1995.
Just a few weeks ago in Washington, I introduced my plan for real border security reform that the Federation for American Immigration Reform or FAIR, (www.nomoreamnesty.com) will promote as the cornerstone of their legislative agenda and which I will carry to candidates across the nation in the form of my "Candidate's Pledge on Homeland Security."
Over the next year I will endeavor to commit as many candidates as possible to join me by pledging their support to ten essential border security and immigration reforms. These ten items are:
Ending the current "Catch and release" policy by making expedited removal of illegal aliens mandatory and to require the completion of the US-VISIT entry-exit system. Authorizing the deployment of the military on the border to assist in controlling illegal immigration.
Construction of a border fence along the U.S.-Mexico border extending from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, starting with the most heavily trafficked border crossings. Mandatory employer verification of worker eligibility to work in the United States.
Stiff penalties for knowingly hiring illegal workers, not fines that are considered "a cost of doing business." Make clear that local and state authorities are authorized to apprehend illegal aliens in the conduct of their routine duties, a legal uncertainty that has prevented untold thousands of illegal alien captures.
Prohibit illegal aliens from any access to Social Security benefits. Unbelievably, current U.S. law allows a loophole for illegal aliens to receive social security benefits. This practice must end.
Removing employer tax deductions for wages and benefits paid to illegal aliens.
Limiting birthright citizenship to the children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
Comprehensive border and immigration enforcement legislation to end countless other loopholes that benefit illegal aliens and those who profit from their crime of illegal presence in the United States, to give law enforcement the tools and permission to enforce the laws and to compensate states for the financial impact of illegal immigration.
These are a few of the immigration reforms that you can count on me to support, and what is more important, you can count on my leadership on these initiatives. I will be working, even before you elect me, to secure pledges from other candidates around the country to support these reforms with me.
During my previous service in the House of Representatives I was a leader on illegal immigration reform, introducing H.R. 7, the bill to end birthright citizenship. If elected to the House again, I will continue to work to build support for that and the other parts of my plan to enact meaningful immigration reform.
While several of my opponents claim to have ideas to reform illegal immigration, I am putting them on paper and putting them into action. Who among my opponents can say that?
Brian Bilbray for Congress
The only candidate endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council representing more than 10,000 front-line Border Patrol employees.
K came across as a very agitated person.
--
He would probably like to choke the crap out of a certain web master . He got Simonized. ;-)
It's been fun, Folks, see ya at the June date.
Unofficial results. Updated at 00:30:23 on 04-12-06.
US REP. 50TH DIST.
Counted: 430 of 445 precincts – 96.6 percent
FRANCINE BUSBY 55284 43.97%
BRIAN P. BILBRAY 19065 15.16%
ERIC ROACH 18143 14.43%
HOWARD KALOOGIAN 9291 7.39%
BILL MORROW 6785 5.40%
ALAN UKE 5020 3.99%
RICHARD EARNEST 2713 2.16%
BILL HAUF 2010 1.60%
SCOTT TURNER 1794 1.43%
CHRIS YOUNG 1676 1.33%
WILLIAM GRIFFITH 1026 0.82%
VICTOR E. RAMIREZ 833 0.66%
PAUL KING 766 0.61%
JEFF NEWSOME 544 0.43%
SCOTT ORREN 310 0.25%
DELECIA HOLT 240 0.19%
BILL BOYER 185 0.15%
MILTON GALE 53 0.04%
That is Brian all right.
He is not going to win over the fence jumpers.
Norm!
WE are still up!
I'm
Not! :-P Click!
grrr'nite :)
LOL!
*smooch* and G'nite AGAIN!
^__^
YES!
G'Nite, GP.
Gifted enough to get taken out by Susan Davis the last time he held a local congressional seat!
:-)
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