How to buy a state Senate seat

Newly elected Rep. John Campbell, after spending gazillions of dollars to buy the 70th Assembly District seat less than five years ago, bought this Gold Coast’s state Senate seat last year and then purchased the congressional seat that once belonged to Chris Cox. That leaves his Senate seat, stretching from Seal Beach to San Clemente, open. The primary election, or sale, of this most Republican seat in America, will be held in April.

I have absolutely nothing against any politician mentioned here: John Campbell or any other candidate who buys an election. You can blame the voters, you and I, and the party leadership that fails to find and develop good, worthy candidates -- but not wealthy candidates.

There are essentially two ways for a first-time wannabe to win a partisan election. The candidate either has very high positive recognition throughout the district and enough money to wage a creditable campaign, or the candidate has unlimited financial resources and is willing to spend $500,000 to a $1 million to buy it.

Buying an election is as old as politics itself. First you must have a clean record. Then, you must hire a top-notch, no-holds-barred, successful political consultant from the Sacramento area. Convince him that you are willing to spend whatever, and if you are tied into an industry or profession, have them promise to provide any resources needed above yours.

First, the consultant will help you tell GOP leaders and the political world and especially any other wannabes, that you have the money to win the election and are willing to spend it. This is important because it freezes out good candidates who are not wealthy and don’t have the ability to raise the funds needed to compete with a rich candidate.

The consultant will then take you on the rounds to Republican politicians, starting with those who owe him or for whom he works (consults). You will meet with them and tell them all about yourself and how conservative you are (remember this is a primary).

All this, of course, means little to the politician.

He doesn’t know you and probably won’t even after he endorses you. What gets his attention is your checkbook and your ability and willingness to buy the election. The politician will give you his or her endorsement because his own consultant encourages him to, and he recognizes that you will win and that he will soon have a new, wealthy associate who owes him. Also the sitting politician is very practical in this regard; he wants to be on the bandwagon.

It isn’t a good idea not to be a friend of this wealthy person who is soon to be sitting with you in caucus, and you sure don’t want to be on the outs with him when you run for a higher office.

Soon, the candidate has enough endorsements that he can get the remainder by phone. With all those political endorsements, he will then begin to raise money from the special interests, who also want to be on the winning side. It isn’t unusual that they will end up funding the entire campaign. Even if they don’t fund it all, the candidate can recoup the money loaned to the campaign from Sacramento or Washington fundraisers, once elected.

During the campaign, the candidate’s mail, sent to GOP voters, will be covered front and back with the names of everyone from the governor to the local street sweepers.

As they say in politics, “everyone from God on down.”

For some reason, voters who don’t even like politicians are impressed with all the names and vote for the candidate with the most endorsements.

So far, in the upcoming Senate race, we have only two candidates who have announced: Tom Harman, a termed-out assemblyman from the Huntington Beach end of the district, and Diane Harkey, a little-known, wealthy city councilwomen from Dana Point.

Harkey, though unknown to voters (much as John Campbell remains after three elections), is wealthy and appears to be adopting the Campbell strategy to victory. The word is already out in the political community that she will spend whatever is necessary to win. She already has important endorsements and will soon have the endorsement of every GOP officeholder this side of the Mississippi. You have already begun receiving mail from her.

This may seem a sorry state of affairs for our Grand Old Party, but voters are not blameless.

GOP voters do not go to candidates debates. If they did, they would learn the difference between candidates. They would also learn that most wealthy candidates refuse to debate. Nor do most voters find other ways to learn about the candidates. Few newspapers in Orange County bother to really cover a city or state election. They do make a to-do about how much money each candidate has or is willing to lend to their campaign. Ironically, this gives tremendous support to the rich candidate’s strategy. It helps him or her raise additional funds, further freezes out the other candidates, and impresses the voters since they have little else on which to judge the candidates.

Though few voters read the papers’ stories about campaign funds raised, the wealthy candidate, through the voters’ mailboxes, makes sure every voter gets a copy of the article. Most voter information about the candidate and the election comes to the voter through the voter’s mailbox.

The more money, the more mail.

The mail is professionally done, is not restricted to the truth about the candidate or the other candidates and is relentless. The mail arrives almost every day; each with a list of all the GOP endorsements of politicians, some you may even know and even respect.

And that’s how wealthy candidates win elections. They buy them by selling themselves to you and me.

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Gil Ferguson is a Newport Beach resident and former member of the state Assembly representing the Newport Beach area.