Posted on 06/07/2006 1:06:35 PM PDT by CounterCounterCulture
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, State Sen. Abel Maldonado has lost to Tony Strickland for the Republican nominaton for state controller.
Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, received 37 percent of the vote compared to more than 40 percent for Strickland.
They had been in an even tighter race last night.
"We knew that this race was going to be very, very close," Maldonado said Tuesday night. "Obviously, we'd love to be on top. I'm proud of the campaign we ran."
Local Republican leaders said Maldonado's decision to run six months after being elected to the Senate made sense because the moderate could do well in a statewide race.
But polls showed Maldonado had problems with name recognition in other parts of the state.
The little-known office of controller, which handles the state's tax revenue, is often a launching pad for bigger things.
The Republican's bid for the office often got dirty, with the candidates attacking one another on their Web sites.
I don't know much about this race, but I take it from your campaign poster that you are a Strickland supporter.
The article calls Maldonado a "moderate," which, according to my MSM decoder ring, means that he is a screaming RINO.
• This year, he authored a bill to increase the minimum wage. When he couldn't get any support from Republican legislators, he pushed to resurrect the previously dormant Industrial Welfare Commission (with Schwarzenegger's help) to avoid a vote by the legislature altogether.
• He broke party lines in July 2003 on a crucial vote, helping to undermine the Republican fiscal recovery plan designed to avoid the financial crisis.
• In 2001, he co-authored AB 540, with leftist Marco Firebaugh, legislation that gave in-state tuition status to illegal immigrants.
• In 2001, he pushed a $500,000 earmark in the budget for the "Abel Maldonado Youth Center"
• He broke party lines in 1999, voting for an assault weapon ban publicly stating "They are weapons of war." and "they shouldn't be on the streets," statements used by the Democrats to strengthen their campaign (which succeeded).
Liberal not even a RINO. Only reason he has R in name is like all liberals they cannot run on their ticket so they run on the republican.
I'm not sorry Strickland came out on top.
68% for Strickland in Ventura County. Is he from that area or is Ventura just very conservative?
Strickland is from Ventura County.
He ran for office in a mainly conservative area of California (northern Santa Barbara county) so in order to win he had to run Republican. Abel is a fiscal conservative but in all other aspects he is a liberal. His base here on the central coast is looking for another horse to ride.
Actually, he's not even that. The guy doesn't even have a basic grasp of economics.
See posts #4 and #6. CCC beat me to it!
CCC--you can borrow, any time! :-)
I got a telephone call/recording from Newt Gingrich asking me to vote for the RINO...Makdonado
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
When he was the mayor of Santa Maria he balanced the budget and helped the city win the coveted "All American City" title. He almost doubled the police force and built two new fire stations that had the net impact of lowering the insurance rate for several hundred homeowners. The planning commission he chartered has kept growth of the city within reason and well planned. He does have some redeeming value, not all the voters in Santa Barbara county are morons.
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