Free Republic

I’ve written about David Harmer before. He is in a very close election out in CA-10, running in a special election to replace former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher. As Jim Geraghty noted yesterday, Harmer is running full steam ahead into the public option in his district, which leans blue, but in which Harmer is polling very, very well against a state wide elected Democrat — California’s Lieutenant Governor. Harmer could use some last minute help. Things are looking good for him, but money and volunteers remain in short supply. To donate folks can go to the website: http://www.harmerforcongress.com/ To volunteer, people...

Despite election countdown fervor from pro-GOP David Harmer forces, the National Republican Congressional Committee does not yet view him as a “contender” in his bid against Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi in the 10th congressional district special election on Tuesday. A Roll Call story today reports that the committee elevated nine candidates in its Young Guns program — its targeted candidate initiative — from “On the Radar” to “Contender.”Harmer was not among the nine selected for the second tier. No candidate has yet achieved the highest ranking of “Young Gun.” NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos insists Harmer’s status does not reflect...

Over the last week and a half, four packed events have taken place with economic free market conservatives in the Bay Area. One can only guess if this is a "new beginning" for those who care about affordable health care, economy and jobs - or a blip on the screen. <snip> In Moraga last night, CD-10 candidates held their final debate. Though CD-10 has been in Democrat hands since 1996, Harmer had the largest most vocal supporters of the 300 who attended. Health care was the most contentious with Garamendi defending the public option as "a way to control private...

ALAMO, Calif. (KCBS) - Next week, voters in the East Bay will choose a new member of Congress. And, the race to replace Democrat Ellen Tauscher may be closer than first thought. Cover Story on the candidates: KCBS' Doug Sovern reports Republican David Harmer has been hammering Lt. Governor John Garamendi in online ads, warning that the veteran Democrat will vote to raise taxes if he gets to Washington...This isn't some sort of prelude to something else. We are absolutely serious about taking this seat and I think we will." Harmer's internal polling shows him within upset distance in a...

MORAGA -- The five candidates for the 10th Congressional District seat entered the final week of campaigning Monday night participating in a cordial debate with few surprises. The candidates -- vying Nov. 3 for the seat left open when Rep. Ellen Tauscher resigned in June to take a U.S. State Department post as undersecretary for arms control and international security -- spoke before almost 300 people in a Saint Mary's College auditorium. Although the seat has been in Democratic hands since 1996, Republican candidate David Harmer brought the largest and most vocal supporters Monday night. <snip> With a house bill...

In the other special House election this year, in California’s 10th district, Republican David Harmer and Democrat John Garamendi squared off in a debate last night. One of my readers who was there noted, “Garamendi was stiff and pasty, he was not happy that Harmer supporters were there 5-1. Harmer was smooth and in his element. Will be posted on YouTube later tonight. Good moderator.” I can’t quite come out and say Harmer’s going to pull out an upset, but it feels like the ingredients for one are starting to come together. First, it’s a special election, and so most...

The Iraq war and President Bush have faded from voters' thoughts in the year since President Obama won the White House, leaving this year's Democratic candidates to justify $787 billion in stimulus spending despite lingering high unemployment and pushing a health care overhaul amid widespread voter skepticism. <snip> From California to New York, dominant themes are health care, Social Security, the weak housing market and misgivings about Wall Street bailouts. But for the first time in years, several polls show voters trust Republicans more than Democrats to better address the problems of the day. California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a...

Forum with David Harmer and John Garamendi Monday, October 26 7:00pm (Please arrive by 6:15pm) Soda Center, St. Mary's College, Moraga (map) We are asking all of our friends and supporters to join us tonight, October 26th at St. Mary's College for the only forum between David Harmer and John Garamendi for the election. We need to pack the house with supporters as we contrast our values of fiscal discipline and personal responsibility against the tax-and-spend agenda of John Garamendi. A strong showing at the forum will further energize the campaign as we count down to victory on November 3rd....

With Washington’s gaze fixed on the contentious, three-way House special election in upstate New York on Nov. 3, California’s 10th District contest on the same day has been largely overlooked. But with just over a week to go before Election Day, California Republicans continue to hold out hope for an upset victory by Republican David Harmer in his bid to replace former Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher.

The New Jersey and Virginia governor's races aren't the only contests in which Democrats are feeling pressure from the growing unpopularity of President Obama's policies. A GOP upset may also be in the making in a California House special election on November 3. Democratic Lt. Governor John Garamendi and Republican attorney David Harmer are battling for the Bay Area congressional seat vacated by Democrat Ellen Tauscher, who left to join the Obama state department. Normally a staunch Democratic seat, there is a growing chance it could swing to the GOP given the state's latest budget collapse and the 13% approval...

<snip> The highest profile race locally has been the runoff to replace former Rep. Ellen Tauscher in the 10th Congressional District. The heavily Democratic district includes much of Fairfield. The U.S. Senate confirmed Tauscher in June as under secretary for arms control and international security in the U.S. State Department. Democrat and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is the front-runner by virtue of his political party and high name identification. He faces GOP nominee attorney David Harmer. The names of three minor-party candidates also will appear on the ballot. <snip> Harmer, whose father, John, was a state senator and appointed by...

REPUBLICAN David Harmer knows the odds. His Democratic challenger in the 10th congressional district special election, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, has more money and name recognition in the heavily Democratic district. <snip> "One of my heroes said, and I am paraphrasing here, that a majority has never been necessary to prevail but what it takes is an irate and tireless minority keen to set fresh fires of freedom in people's minds," Harmer said. "Whether a Republican can carry this seat depends on how badly the voters want to send a message to both parties than an explosion of (government) spending...

SACRAMENTO (BCN) ― A special general election on Nov. 3 for a vacant U.S. Congress seat in the East Bay pits California's Democratic lieutenant governor against a Republican son of a former lieutenant governor. <snip> Harmer said that his main issue with the President and Congress is what he thinks is a lack of fiscal discipline. "When the President is promoting policies of limited government, a sound dollar, and economic opportunity, he'll have my wholehearted support," Harmer said. "You cannot spend money you don't have," he said. "What Congress is doing now is irresponsible. Whatever our disagreement is on other...

There could be a serious upset in a congressional special election this year and it is going under the radar. John Fund took notice of it yesterday. David Harmer is the Republican running in a special election to fill Ellen Tauscher’s seat in Congress. The Democrat, Lt. Governor John Garamendi, is favored to win, but is only polling 41% to Harmer’s 34%. Interestingly, poling in the area shows the favorability of the GOP is skyrocketing in that district. Nonetheless, the GOP would rather support a pro-gay marriage, pro-abortion, pro-union, ACORN supported Dede Scozzafava in New York’s 23rd Congressional District than...

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi is virtually certain to survive a runoff with a token Republican opponent and extend his 35-year-long political career, which began with election to the Assembly in 1974, into the indefinite future as a congressman. Garamendi emerged atop a field of candidates for the 10th Congressional District seat that Democrat Ellen Tauscher surrendered after taking a trade job in the Obama administration. The 10th District, which covers much of the Bay Area's eastern suburbs, has an 18-percentage-point Democratic registration margin, making the Nov. 3 runoff with Republican David Harmer a cakewalk. The more uncertain aspect is whom...

It may be premature for Lt. Gov. John Garamendi to start printing new business cards, but he could be placing an order for them soon. The well-known 64-year-old lawmaker and rancher from Walnut Grove triumphed over his Democratic competitors in Tuesday's special 10th Congressional District primary. "I have represented every part of this district for the past 10-1/2 years," Garamendi said via telephone over the din of his campaign party in Walnut Creek late Tuesday. "The people of this district understood that I knew the issues that they cared about and that I could be a good and forceful representative."...

Residents of the 10th Congressional District have a rare chance next month to select a new representative. The district has been without a vote in the Capitol since June 26, when former Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher resigned to take a post as undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security with the U.S. State Department. Voters faced with this big decision have their work cut out for them. Drawn by the infrequent opportunity to run for an open Congressional seat, 14 candidates will compete in the Sept. 1 special primary election for either an outright win or a spot as their...

... Republican attorney David Harmer – son of former California lieutenant governor and Southern California state legislator John Harmer – says he’ll be a candidate in the 10th Congressional District should Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo, be confirmed to the State Department post to which she is nominated. .... Harmer, of San Ramon, said he believes the district’s voters share his commitment to fiscal responsibility. .... And although this will be an uphill battle for him – the district has an 18-percentage-point Democratic registration edge – Harmer said he already has raised more than $150,000 for this race. Spokesman Michael Caporusso...