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.
42% for Busby? She only got 37% in 2004, right?
>>The K man is out.
It certainly looks that way, along with Morrow.
I liked those two and a couple lesser knowns.
Yeah, but this is low turnout. It's a special. Her people will come out because she has the Kossacks behind her.
She still won't get 50 percent.
One other thought. Roach is Mormon, and they are very organized, and most probably voted absentee, and mostly for Roach. I am going to go out on a limb with that thought, and "predict," cautiously, that Bilbray will be the man.
36.5
Francine P. Busby Democratic 105,590 36.5
* Randy "Duke" Cunningham Republican 169,025 58.5
Diane Templin American Independent 4,723 1.6
Gary M. Waayers Green 6,504 2.2
Brandon C. Osborne Libertarian 3,486 1.2
* incumbent
4 of 445 precincts – 00.9 percent
FRANCINE BUSBY 27332 42.23%
BRIAN P. BILBRAY 9159 14.15%
ERIC ROACH 9011 13.92%
HOWARD KALOOGIAN 4824 7.45%
Hopefully tommorrow's headline won't be:
Bilbray Crushes Roach
The runoff will be june 6 right? That scares me alittle given that the Dems Primany is tight and might drive their vote out.
What kind of weather did we have today in San Diego? Clear I think..
I may have to agree with your "prediction".
It is overcast but not raining in South Orange County.
Thanks for Breaking.
I guess we could sing and dance for awhile 'til more results come in. ;-)
Anybody know the Rockabilly version of Kumbaya?
Historical note: Busby got 36.5% (105,590) of the vote against Duke in 2004.
If it's Bilbray then the party got what it wanted because the conservatives split among so many candidates. I think Bilbray could be the weakest candidate going against Busby in June. Conservatives don't like him because he's mush on social issues, Busby has assumed Bilbray will be her opponent and has attacked him as a "lobbyist" trying to paint him in mold of the Abramoff scandal.
CA Senators (D) both come from the SF Bay Area: San Francisco and Marin Counties. We don't have representation in SoCal.
Dick Mountjoy (R), is from Monrovia, but who knows if he will emphasize that he can represent Southern CA. He mentions on his website that he introduced and qualified Prop 187. But, in a time with illegal aliens protesting in the streets and making ordinary citizens resent them, Mountjoy is nowhere in the media where he could improve his name recognition. (I had to look his name up because I couldn't remember it!)
Maybe Kaloogian wants to run against Boxer, since running against Feinstein is more difficult?
The three candidates strong on borders are: Bilbray, Kaloogian and Morrow. I want one of them to win, but Bilbray is too establishment for me. I want Kaloogian to win.
Boxer's a madwoman. We need a carefully selected candidate to face her. Sorry but Special K wouldn't stand a chance against her ruthless campaigning and mammoth war chest.
any vote count update?
I agree about Boxer being a better candidate for him to run against for the Senate.
Mountjoy, where is the Buzz? He's a good man but he is a conservative, after all, and with the mood of the GOP and the electorate, we all know what that means.
Maybe his son can do us all proud in the future and do it up right.
Is this district entirely within San Diego County?
ROFL!
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