Alicia Robinson and Dave BrooksHuntington Beach Sen....

Alicia Robinson and Dave Brooks

Huntington Beach Sen. John Campbell announced Friday that he will run

for Rep. Chris Cox’s seat in Congress -- a step that could pave the

way for Assemblyman Tom Harman to make his way to the state Senate.

Cox is awaiting Senate confirmation after President Bush last week

appointed him to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If Cox is confirmed, the governor will set a special election to

fill his congressional seat, which represents Newport Beach as well

as Laguna Beach and a number of South County cities. If Campbell, 49,

of Irvine, were to win an election to replace Cox, Harman said he

would consider running for the Senate.

“Yes I would, I’m thinking about it and making a decision,” he

said. “It’s a little premature, but I’m certainly considering that.”

Harman is in his last term in the Assembly and had planned to make

a 2006 bid at capturing Jim Silva’s seat on the Orange County Board

of Supervisors.

Silva in turn plans to run for Harman’s old seat, but faces a

challenge from Harman’s wife, Dianne Harman, who wants to replace her

husband in the Assembly.

One obvious advantage of a Tom Harman bid for the Senate is that

he shares about two-thirds of the same constituents with Campbell.

But with so many unknown factors separating Harman from a seat on the

Senate, the Assemblyman said he plans to “sit back and wait to see

what happens.”

Even Campbell, at first, was unsure of his own intentions.

After saying last week that he wouldn’t run, Campbell on Wednesday

withdrew his endorsement of GOP colleague Sen. Dick Ackerman and said

he might run himself. A few days later, Ackerman withdrew his bid.

Campbell hoped to be tapped to succeed Ackerman as Senate

Republican leader, but that hope was thwarted. That factored into his

decision to go for the House seat, but it wasn’t sour grapes,

Campbell said.

“In this Congressional race I will be a clear front-runner,”

Campbell said. But in the race for Senate leadership he wasn’t a

favorite.

So far, former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer of Newport Beach is

the only definite contender.

A host of other names, including Orange County Treasurer-Tax

Collector John Moorlach of Costa Mesa, have surfaced as potential

candidates, but most are waiting to see what else happens before they

commit.

One immediate effect of Campbell’s candidacy is to raise the cost

of the race. Earlier estimates were about $1 million, but Campbell

said he’s prepared to spend $2 million, and he can fund much of that

himself.