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CA-48 Special Election
Voters in California's 48th district head to the polls today to select a replacement for ex-Rep. Chris Cox (R), who is now serving as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The race has drawn a cavalcade of candidates, but state Sen. John Campbell (R) appears to be the frontrunner to claim the seat in the open primary, garnering the endorsement of both Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state party.
Under California law, if Campbell receives 50 percent of the vote, he will become the next congressman from the Orange County-area district, which gave President Bush 58 percent of the vote in 2004. If not, the top vote-getters in the Republican and Democratic parties, along with American Independent Party candidate Jim Gilchrist, would advance to a Dec. 6 general election. Gilchrist has been called a "wild card" in the race, as he may attract votes from conservative Republicans with his anti-illegal immigration platform.
Campbell's main rival is former state Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer (R), who is considerably more moderate on social issues than Campbell but has raised and spent more than $600,000 on the race -- including a $350,000 personal donation.
Campbell's consulting team includes Sacramento-based operative David Gilliard, who is charged with handling the media, and Arnie Steinberg, the campaign's pollster. Brewer is using Steve Kinney of Public Opinion Strategies as a pollster and Harvey Englander as her media adviser.
This race probably doesn't offer much insight into the 2006 mid-terms unless one of the Democrats manages to produce a strong showing.
Surprisingly, the online open-source encyclopedia Wikipedia has a detailed entry on this special election.
By Chris Cillizza |
October 4, 2005; 8:00 AM ET
| Category:
House
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Posted by: Dublin Accommodation | March 22, 2006 9:28 AM
Ouch! The results are in and Campbell crushes Marilyn and Gilchrest and Young limp to the next round...
I wonder how McCain's highly-touted endorsement of the obviously not so well-regarded RINOesque Marilyn Brewer will play in the donor primary in '08. McCain certainly has burned a bridge with Campbell and the rest of the OC GOP establishment.
Posted by: seank | October 5, 2005 4:26 AM
Also Steve Young, the California Democratic Party endorsed candidate, who is odds on to be the Democratic nominee tonight.
With 75,000 Independents and a very socially moderate district and a National Leadership determined to driveaway the moderate elements of his own party, Steve Young has a better chance than you think given the huge crossover voting potential.
He has shown a remarkable ability to attract those voters.
Posted by: Stuart O'Neill | October 4, 2005 11:17 AM
"If not, the top vote-getters in the Republican and Democratic parties, along with American Independent Party candidate Jim Gilchrist, would advance to a Dec. 6 general election."
Not only these three, but the Green Candidate Tiritilli and the Libertarian Cohen would advance as well. (I looked it up on wikipedia...)
Posted by: Ronald Kane Hardy | October 4, 2005 10:29 AM
What's so surprising about Wikipedia having detailed info on this election? After all, it's the work of multiple authors rather than just one. Great resource!
Posted by: Paul Andersen | October 4, 2005 9:55 AM
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Your site is realy very interesting.