Grudge match

Alicia Robinson

Political observers expect to see a bundle of money poured into the

unexpected March Republican primary race between Rep. Dana

Rohrabacher and conservative talk show host Bob Dornan.

Dornan, a former congressman with a colorful history, surprised

fellow Republicans last week when he filed to run against

Rohrabacher, with whom he has had a very public up-and-down

friendship.

“I’m just disappointed that Bob decided to do this,” Rohrabacher

said of Dornan’s decision to file for the 46th Congressional

District. “This is all based on ego and an old grudge, and I’m sorry

that he doesn’t remember any of the positive fights that we had while

we were on the same team.”

That team fell apart after Dornan’s high-profile loss of his

Garden Grove-based Congressional seat to Rep. Loretta Sanchez in

1996. Dornan has loudly blamed that loss in part on a lack of support

by his fellow California representatives including Chris Cox, Ron

Packard, Ed Royce and Rohrabacher. He also lost a rematch in 1998.

“From my heart, 9/11 made me desperately want to go back into the

political arena,” Dornan said. “My main reason is to try and get back

into congress with my expertise in intelligence and in military

affairs.”

Dornan, who earned numerous nicknames during his fire brand years

in Congress -- “B-1 Bob” one of the most polite -- also maintained

that he would never have been in the fight had he not given

Rohrabacher the safe Republican Huntington Beach district in 1992,

rather than take it himself after the last round of redistricting.

Rohrabacher, 56, a former journalist and a speechwriter for Ronald

Reagan, has served in Congress since 1988.

Although Dornan helped him get his start in politics with an

endorsement, Rohrabacher says he is on guard for the campaign.

“Bob is known as a very abusive and mean-spirited campaigner, so

no one ever takes him lightly,” he said. “I have to make sure I have

the money necessary to thwart and to explain what is expected to be a

race laced with highly personal attacks.”

Dornan has come out swinging. The statement that he is a

mudslinging campaigner “is a lie perpetrated by Democrats,” he said.

“I never put out a negative brochure in any of my campaigns until

I got hit first,” Dornan said. “I always try to run a campaign on the

issues.”

He has a long history of government service. He served in the U.S.

Air Force from 1953 to 1959 and was a congressman from 1977 to 1983

and from 1985 to 1997.

Dornan, 70, toyed with the idea of running against Rohrabacher in

the fall of 1999.

Local Republicans weren’t expecting the move and will have to

choose sides in the coming weeks.

“I have not seen Bob for several years, and I don’t know anyone

who has talked to him for several years, so such an announcement is a

real surprise,” Orange County Republican Party Chairman Tom Fuentes

said.

Dornan and Rohrabacher had similar voting records in Congress, so

it’s unlikely that one particular issue will be a factor in the race,

Fuentes said.

He expected Rohrabacher’s fellow legislators to support him.

“He works very closely with the other House members from Orange

County, and the likelihood of their rallying behind him is high,”

Fuentes said.

Rohrabacher also said he and Dornan have similar political agendas

but that his opponent’s negativity will likely be a turnoff to

voters.

“Bob and I come from two different conservative roots,”

Rohrabacher said. “Bob is an old-line right-winger who is always

against things. ... A positive conservative approach is something

that is much more in tune with the voters of this district than what

Bob’s track record represents.”

But Dornan said his legislative record is not the same as

Rohrabacher’s, and he expects issues to be the most important factor

in the campaign.

“I don’t think I’m running against a Republican,” he said. “I

think I’m running against a Libertarian who changed his registration

so he could get elected.”

Political watchers see another factor as key to the race: cash.

“Money is the key, always,” UC Irvine political science professor

Mark Petracca said. “Dornan’s going to need a big bag of cash to

carpet bomb the district [with campaign literature].”

Historically, Dornan has been a strong fundraiser with many small

contributors, Petracca said. And if Dornan is raising and spending a

lot of money, Rohrabacher may have to follow suit, something he

wasn’t expecting to do in the March election.

Dornan’s campaign coffers aren’t exactly brimming yet -- his

latest report filed with the Federal Elections Commission listed less

than $37,000 cash on hand as of Sept. 30, compared with the $156, 600

Rohrabacher had as of that date. But in the past, Dornan has been a

formidable fundraiser, netting contributions of $3.7 million in

1997-98 elections while Rohrabacher raised just $316,700.

Some Republicans are worried that because Rohrabacher has an

opponent in the primary, his campaign will require dollars he usually

gives to the support of other Republicans.

‘We’re always concerned when Republican dollars are spent in a

primary election,” Fuentes said.

Rohrabacher has always been a generous giver to other candidates,

said Carl Forti, National Republican Congressional Committee

spokesman.

“From the NRCC standpoint, we’re 110% behind Mr. Rohrabacher, and

we’ll give him any assistance he needs,” Forti said.

While money is important, it won’t be the sole factor in winning

the race. Image will also count, and onlookers expect personal

attacks to be part of the campaigning.

Dornan’s record -- which includes a tussle with a fellow

congressman and his alleging that illegal votes helped Sanchez beat

him in 1996 -- gives Rohrabacher ammunition to undermine Dornan’s

credibility, Petracca said.

But Rohrabacher will need to watch his back.

“If [Dornan is] at all serious about doing this, he’ll fight tooth

and nail, and it’ll be a very, very vicious campaign,” Petracca said.

While both candidates are likely to be asking for money as March 2

draws closer, Rohrabacher can count on some support from an

unexpected quarter.

“Anything I can do to make sure that Bob Dornan does not represent

me is what I feel I must do,” said William Orton, a Costa Mesa

Democrat and former candidate for the 67th Assembly District seat.

While he’ll support a Democrat in the general election, Orton said

he dislikes Dornan enough that he’d help Rohrabacher with fundraising

for the primary.

“I’m going to send Dana Rohrabacher a check,” Orton said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She can be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.