Since the Congress went into recess after the November 18 battle royale over Rep. John Murtha’s Iraqi withdrawal resolution, Washington has been very quit. Until Monday of this week when Rep. Duke Cunningham, another Vietnam War veteran, announced his resignation and detailed his astonishing level of corruption.
The already competitive race for the 50th district got more interesting last week when Assemblyman Mark Wyland, who many believed to be an early favorite, dropped out, opting for an easy election to the state senate seat held by Bill Morrow. However, Cunningham’s announcement, which triggers an early spring special election, has given Wyland reason to reconsider. With his personal wealth, a compacted race would give him a significant advantage. Wyland is reconsidering but as of this writing, has yet to make up his mind. His district director, and likely campaign manager, Chip Englander, is leaving for Oklahoma to manage Congressman Ernest Istook’s campaign for governor.
Other competitors for the 50th are Senator Bill Morrow, former Congressman Brian Bilbray, former Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, and businessman Alan Uke. Each of the candidates has fundraising ability, promising to make the race expensive. There is also an interesting mix of conservatives and moderates.
Morrow is popular and has been through a congressional race before. His competitive race in the 2000 primary against Darrell Issa gave him great experience and introduced him to many at the national level. He has done an excellent job of keeping in touch with Washington-based business groups and he is well liked by them. There is some concern amongst those groups, however, that there may be residual animosity from Issa.
Kaloogian, who has involved himself in national conservative movements such as the recall of Gray Davis, has amassed an extensive list of conservative endorsements. Aside from those groups in the conservative movement that have active memberships, it remains to be seen how those endorsements will impact his campaign. Kaloogian’s FEC filing, which will be public in mid-January, will be telling.
Uke, a wealthy – and moderate – businessman, is a well-known name in San Diego County for a guy that has never served in public office. His wealth, which many say he’s quite willing to use, will be the main variable in assessing his viability.
Bilbray, who many think is a Washington favorite, is not. His imprint on Congress was marginal and his more moderate, downtown profile, doesn’t necessarily benefit him in conservative North County. However, while Bilbray and Uke will divide up moderates, Morrow, Kaloogian, and possibly Wyland will divide conservatives making this race a total toss-up today.