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Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #10639 Geography Surveyed: CA 50th CD Data Collected: 11/01/2006 - 11/03/2006 Release Date: 11/04/2006 11:25 AM ET Sponsor: KGTV-TV San Diego Never Mind; Busby Fades at the Finish & Bilbray Holds CA50 for Republicans: Polling exclusively for KGTV-TV San Diego, SurveyUSA wrote on 9/13/06 that CA50 was "safe" for the GOP. Republican Brian Bilbray at that time had a 14 point lead, and appeared to be out of reach. Then, on 10/16/06, in the middle of the media coverage of Mark Foley, Democrat Francine Busby closed to within 2 points in SurveyUSA...

Without offering evidence that could be independently verified, Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby and her top campaign aide alleged yesterday that Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray is the target of a criminal fraud investigation. Rumors of a county grand jury investigation of Bilbray's residency status have circulated in recent weeks, with Busby campaign operatives seeking to generate interest among several news outlets, none of which confirmed an investigation. At a news conference yesterday, with the Nov. 7 election less than four weeks away, Busby campaign manager Ray Drew said he had been contacted by several anonymous callers who said they are...

Just over three months ago, the special election to fill the vacancy left by congressman-turned-inmate Randy “Duke” Cunningham was a political rock concert. It was national news, big money poured in from both parties and Washington pundits touted it as a barometer of the national mood. That was then. 50TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BY THE NUMBERSVoter registration: 44 percent: Republican 30 percent: Democratic 22 percent: Decline to state Republican Brian Bilbray won that June contest, defeating Democrat Francine Busby by slightly more than 4.5 percentage points. A comfortable margin, but not commanding, considering the Republican Party spent $5 million on Bilbray's...

JOIN THE BILBRAY BRIGADE! Join one of the most high profile congressional races in the country today! U.S. Congressman Brian Bilbray’s Campaign is looking for individuals interested in working on one of the most talked about races in the nation. Full-time, part-time and internship positions available in all facets of a comprehensive grassroots campaign are currently available. • Unbelievable opportunity to break into politics. • Great way to develop vital job skills • Excellent opportunity to network • Ideal for individuals who are willing to work hard to start or advance their career in politics. Duties would include daily direct...

There is an old joke that goes something like this. Q. How do you know a politician is lying? A. His lips are moving. Obviously this catches the public's disgust with politicians that say one thing and do another. This is one of the reasons citizen's groups want things in writing. They send questionnaires out hoping to put these politicians in ink on various topics. They believe that at least having something writing will keep politicians honest. In March of this year former Congressman Brian Bilbray was running for the 50th Congressional Seat after Duke Cunningham resigned in disgrace. Bilbray...

Late Wednesday afternoon, a "Manual Hand Count Request under the Election Recount Provision" was filed at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office by CA-50 voter Barbara Gail Jacobson. The request is for a full manual hand count of all paper ballots and paper trails in the recent June 6th Busby/Bilbray special U.S. House election in which programmed, election-ready Diebold voting machines were sent home with poll workers for days prior to the election in apparent violation of new laws and provisions by both state and federal authorities. As California state election code requires that a candidate be named...

Illegal Aliens: A Few Myths to Keep in Mind . . . Mexico City. Last Tuesday the Pew Hispanic Center announced that 41 percent of Mexicans surveyed in February and 46 percent questioned in May stated they would live in the United States if given "the means and opportunity." Indeed, two out of 10 people interviewed said they were prepared to enter the U.S. illegally. These figures could have amazing consequences because our Spanish- speaking neighbor has a population of nearly 106 million inhabitants.

SAN DIEGO – Rep. Brian Bilbray called Wednesday for increased immigration enforcement well beyond the border, but local law enforcement leaders said they could not take on a federal mandate to arrest suspected illegal immigrants. Bilbray, R-Carlsbad, made his comments during a hearing held at the Border Patrol station here within site of the U.S.-Mexico border, one of several such sessions Republican leaders in the House of Representatives plan to hold around the country to focus more attention on the immigration issue. Bilbray said the recent debates on illegal immigration show that not enough has been done to find and...

Bringing San Diego to the forefront of the immigration debate, House Republicans will hold field hearings on the issue Wednesday at an Imperial Beach border patrol station. Two opposing immigration bills from the House and Senate will head for negotiations after the hearings senators and representatives are holding across the country this summer. San Diego area representatives have been heavily involved in the debate, some authoring sections of the House bill. Measures proposed in the House bill, H.R. 4437, include: making illegal presence in the country a felony, building 698 miles of fencing along the border, requiring employers to use...

SAN DIEGO -- Folks say this border city has been brazenly invaded by an unsavory and disruptive element that opportunistically puts its own interests before the greater good. I never believed it -- until lately. But what can I say now that America's Finest City is crawling with Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, who have come here to hold hearings on immigration reform? San Diego plays host this week to the first of a series of public hearings on this combustible issue. The first hearing -- "Border Vulnerabilities and International Terrorism'' -- will be led by Rep....

Imperial Beach will be at the center of the national immigration debate Wednesday when a congressional field hearing there promises to draw protesters from both sides of the issue. It's one of several nationwide hearings organized by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives who say they will hold them before negotiating a compromise with the Senate. The hearing, called Border Vulnerabilities and International Terrorism, Part I, will start at 9 a.m. at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station, 1802 Saturn Blvd., Imperial Beach. The second part will be Friday in Laredo, Texas. The hearing will be headed by U.S....

House election buoys hard-liners in their fight with moderates on the divisive issue. In political circles, it has become known as the "Bilbray factor": • Brian Bilbray, a former moderate Republican who lost his congressional seat in San Diego six years ago, rode anger about illegal immigration back to Washington with a victory in the June 6 special election. Republicans from Washington, D.C., to Sacramento took notice. • The GOP shut down debate on immigration reform legislation backed by President Bush, scheduling another round of hearings and putting passage in doubt. • In California, Republicans declared they are unwilling to vote for the...

WASHINGTON – Oh, for a honeymoon that had lasted two weeks. Brian Bilbray got no such break. Sworn in to Congress just seven days before, the newly elected lawmaker on Tuesday found himself going head to head with budget-cutting conservatives who questioned his support for congressional “earmarks” and his vote for a congressional pay raise. The conflict – played out for San Diegans last week on local radio – demonstrated that Bilbray may have to walk a political tightrope as he faces a November election for a full two-year seat. “I find it interesting that conservatives are already critiquing Bilbray...

Brad Friedman Added to homepage Sun 18th Jun 2006, 09:43 AM No Confidence in the Busby/Bilbray Election I don't know how else to put it, but every voting machine used in last week's special election run-off for the U.S. House seat vacated by the disgraced Randy "Duke" Cunningham in California's 50th congressional district was illegal. By federal standards, rules and provisions and by California state rules, laws and provisions. And now, by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters own admission. More Discuss this topic (22 comments) · Posted by Wilms

When is a loss really a win? It's a common practice, trying to spin a political defeat into a victory. But in the case of the race to fill Randy "Duke" Cunningham's seat in the House of Representatives, the silver lining might not be that hard to find. snip NOW PAC organizers worked on the Busby campaign, reaching out to voters across the county. The NOW PAC put Hays in San Diego prior to the April 11 Special Election, and sent her and another organizer Monely Soltani there again in late May to work on the run-off vote, held concurrently...

The newest member of the House of Representatives said today that illegal immigration was the sole issue that brought him victory in last week's special election in California. Republican Brian P. Bilbray took his oath of office for his seat in California's 50th District, one of the closest congressional districts to the border. He fills the seat left vacant by former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a felon serving jail time for accepting bribes on behalf of defense contractors. "We did not enjoy the situation or appreciate the problem that created the vacancy, but let me say quite clearly, what is...

WASHINGTON -- A week after his special-election victory — and six months after his predecessor pleaded guilty to bribery — San Diego Republican Brian Bilbray was sworn in to the House Tuesday to replace ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. After House Speaker Dennis Hastert administered the oath, Bilbray, 55, gave a floor speech sounding the theme he believes boosted him to victory — illegal immigration, not congressional corruption. "We did not enjoy the situation or appreciate the problem that created the vacancy," Bilbray said. "But let me say quite clearly — what is obvious in the last few months is the...

A week ago, against expectations, Republican Brian Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine Busby and will serve the remaining term of former Representative Randy Cunningham in California's 50th Congressional District. It was the most closely watched race in the election, very much at the top of the Democrats’ agenda. They immediately claimed that Bilbray won only by demagoguing he immigration issue. They were half right: immigration was the issue, but far from demagoguing it, Bilray merely fulfilled a long commitment. In fact, his victory shows not only where we are going on immigration but where we are coming from as well. Go...

If the slaying of Abu Musab Zarqawi can't cure George W. Bush of the Rodney Dangerfield disease, it's difficult to imagine what would. [SNIP].... ....and Brian Bilbray, the winner of the special election to replace Randy "Duke" Cunningham, mocked the president's amnesty (and all but mocked the president himself) in his victory statement. "To the Bush administration, to the Senate, flat out," he told a radio interviewer, "my opponent ran on your ticket of amnesty; I ran against it, on 'no amnesty.' The message ought to be that now, and here, is the time to take care of this problem.......

This was one of the more politically significant weeks in recent history. A recap of the winners and losers: Click here