Rohrabacher takes race by wide margin

Alicia Robinson

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher settled an old score at the polls Tuesday,

defeating former Rep. Robert K. Dornan by a wide margin in the

Republican race for the 46th Congressional District seat.

Final results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters showed

Rohrabacher with 83% of the GOP vote, while Dornan only captured

16.8%.

“I think this was a victory for Republicans who believe their

party should be a positive rather than negative force in our

society,” Rohrabacher said from his Washington, D.C., office late

Tuesday night. “The Republican voters simply said, ‘We want somebody

who takes a tough stance on issues but is nice rather than a mean

hatemonger.’”

In the three-way Democratic primary for Rohrabacher’s seat, Jim

Brandt bested opponents Tan D. Nguyen and Paul C. Wilkins.

Brandt garnered 49.9% of Democratic votes, followed by Nguyen with

32.8%, while Wilkins trailed with 17.3%.

“I’m feeling really confident about it, so I’m already putting

together a schedule for the general election,” Brandt said Tuesday

night.

Brandt, 53, is a former Marine Corps pilot who has worked in the

computer software business since 1978. He lives in Carson. Nguyen,

28, is a financial advisor and former restaurant owner who lives in

San Marcos. Wilkins, 45, is a Long Beach rowing coach and

businessman.

Rohrabacher and Brandt will vie with Green Party candidate and

microbiologist Tom Lash as well as Libertarian microelectronics

product manager Keith Gann on the November ballot.

Rohrabacher, 56, is a former journalist and White House

speechwriter under Ronald Reagan. He has come out strongly against

illegal immigration and in favor of promoting America’s space

exploration.

With a past that includes 20 years in Congress and careers as an

actor and radio talk show host, Dornan, 70, has been a controversial

figure known for his staunch conservatism and his colorful -- and

sometimes off-color -- remarks. In early December, Dornan made good

on a 1991 threat to run against Rohrabacher, a fellow Republican and

a House member since 1988.

Dornan’s son and campaign manager, Mark Dornan, said his father

had done what he’d set out to do.

“This campaign was never about winning, it was about [the] message

and it was about shocking Rohrabacher out of his cozy friendships

with radical Muslim groups,” Mark Dornan said.

Mark Dornan said Tuesday that his father will remain a thorn in

Rohrabacher’s side to urge him to return that money.

“Anyone who knows Bob Dornan knows that he is not going to let

this go until justice is done,” Mark Dornan said, but he was

noncommittal as to whether his father will run for congress again.

“Never count Bob Dornan out,” Mark Dornan said.

Bob Dornan did not return calls for comment.

For Rohrabacher, the biggest downside of this campaign was having

to raise and spend money.

“In the past I’ve always been very frugal and spent little money,

but I was up against a man with a history of slash-and-burn campaigns

and a history of negative attacks and I had to raise money to defend

myself.”

While Dornan has a history of raising big money from small

donations -- in 1997-98 elections he raised $3.7 million -- but as of

two weeks ago the bulk of his funding had come from his own pocket.

By contrast, Rohrabacher generally raised between $300,000 and

$400,000 per election, but a recent campaign finance report showed he

raised more than $495,000 this time.