House candidates off and running

After 21 people took out papers to run for the 48th District

Congressional seat, 18 of them showed they were serious -- filing

their paperwork by the deadline Monday and becoming official

candidates.

A primary election is set for Oct. 4, with a general election

following on Dec. 6 for the winners in each party if no candidate

takes more than 50% of the primary vote.

Former Rep. Chris Cox of Newport Beach, who first won the House

seat in 1988, left it open Aug. 3 when he became chairman of the

Securities and Exchange Commission. With strong Republican voter

registration in the district, the seat looks like a lifetime job to

GOP candidates.

“It’s not surprising, because once you get past four people in the

race, you might as well run, because there’s some chance that you

could do something,” UC Irvine political scientist Mark Petracca

said.

“The good news is that it’s not a coronation, and frankly, whoever

does win, it helps legitimize the outcome.”

But the gaggle of unknowns will have to compete with the name

recognition and fundraising muscle of former Assemblywoman Marilyn

Brewer and current state Sen. John Campbell, both of whom reported

having raised $500,000 as of Friday and have pulled in big-name

endorsements.

Campbell is backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Brewer last

week got the nod from former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.

Nearly the same number of candidates are running now as did last

time the seat was open. But having an incumbent officeholder like

Campbell is one thing that sets this race apart from the one in 1988,

when state legislators didn’t have term limits.

Campbell is considered a front-runner. But start with too many

Republicans on the ballot in a low-turnout race and add the candidacy

of Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist, who could run on the far

right, and it could be death by a thousand cuts for Campbell,

Petracca said.

And candidates like John Kelly, who owns a men’s store in Tustin,

may not have the money, but tenacity may mean front-runners have to

work a little harder for every vote.

“My campaign is like the Cinderella-man campaign,” Kelly said. “I

never give up. I never throw in the towel.”

The official list of candidates for the 48th Congressional

District seat includes the following:

* Republicans: business owner Marilyn Brewer of Newport Beach;

businessman and state Sen. John Campbell of Irvine; dentist David R.

Crouch of Corona del Mar; merchant-businessman John Kelly of Tustin;

lawyer-businessman Scott MacCabe of Irvine; businessman-attorney Guy

E. Mailly of Irvine; realtor-businesswoman Marsha A. Morris of

Irvine; businessman Marshall Samuel Sanders of Santa Ana; veteran and

international businessman Edward Suppe of Huntington Beach;

physician-businessman Don Udall of Corona del Mar

* Democrats: teacher Bea Foster of Tustin; university business

professor John Graham of Irvine; marketing consultant Tom Pallow of

Santa Ana; businessman-attorney Steve Young of Newport Beach

* Other parties: realtor-businessman Bruce Cohen of Aliso Viejo,

Libertarian; Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist of Aliso Viejo,

American Independent Party; public school teacher Bea Tiritilli of

Santa Ana, Green Party

Late Monday, Orange County Registrar of Voters workers were still

verifying signatures for decline-to-state candidate Al Salehi of

Corona del Mar, registrar spokesman Brett Rowley said.

Decline-to-state candidate D. Bruce Smith of Seal beach is

designated as a write-in candidate, which gives him until Sept. 20 to

gather the required signatures, but his name won’t appear on the Oct.

4 ballot.