Former opponents face off again

It will be ballot box deja vu on Nov. 7 for voters in the 48th Congressional District who will see the same list of candidates they voted on a little less than a year ago.

But this time, incumbent Republican Rep. John Campbell has a record, and he and his Democratic opponent have been bringing it up in their campaigns.

Campbell faces Democrat Steve Young and Libertarian Bruce Cohen — both of whom lost to him in a December special election for the 48th District seat, which represents Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Irvine and all or part of nine other Orange County cities.

The seat was unexpectedly open last year after its longtime incumbent, Chris Cox, was appointed to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Along with the candidates, some of the issues are the same as a year ago. Young is talking about his exit strategy for Iraq (enlist the Arab League to broker peace between Shiite and Sunni factions, and start redeploying U.S. troops); Campbell is talking about illegal immigration and border security; and Cohen is still content to play second or third fiddle in the race.

But what’s changed is Campbell’s 10-plus months in office. Now he’s an incumbent and can mention money he’s all but secured for a major Upper Newport Bay restoration project and his efforts to move forward issues such as banning Internet access taxes and cutting off federal aid to illegal immigrant “sanctuary cities.”

The media have made much of voters’ growing frustration and anger at the GOP, but Campbell’s not concerned about that.

Democrats have been criticizing the GOP but not offering solutions, he said, because “if people knew the Democratic agenda, they would never vote for them…. They’re for open borders, higher taxes, more spending and withdrawing from the war on terror.”

Of course, Young disputes that. He is assailing Campbell for delivering party-line rhetoric rather than solutions, and for voting to increase the deficit limit.

“I have found that the thing that resonates the most is my position that we need to stand up for what’s best for America and not for partisan political parties,” Young said.

What’s changed for Young is that “nobody knew me in July,” and he’s been campaigning almost nonstop since then, he said. Last week he got the endorsement of Esquire magazine, and he’s attended a house party every day this month.

Cohen, meanwhile, has been helping other candidates and has been in “party-building mode.”

He takes credit for persuading Campbell to support a federal bill to legalize medical marijuana, which ultimately got killed, and Orange County Supervisor-Elect John Moorlach recently thanked local Libertarians for helping him win in June.

Cohen isn’t putting up much of a fight for the seat — it’s his third run, and he said of Campbell, “I couldn’t think of a much better person to lose to.”

And for Young, as it was in December, the Nov. 7 election will be a battle against the odds. In the 2005 election, Young won just under 28% of the votes cast, while Campbell took more than 44%.

While voters around the country may be angry with the GOP, it’s unlikely to show here, UC Irvine political scientist Mark Petracca said.

“In lots of ways, Orange County is kind of exempt from these national trends … because they’re super-Republican districts,” he said.

Campbell said while Republicans probably will lose some Congressional seats in November, “I frankly would be surprised if any in California changed hands.”