There is a vibrant Republican primary taking place in the Inland Empire’s 64th Assembly District (a "safe" seat for the GOP). This district that spans from Riverside out to the Coachella Valley is currently represented by conservative Assemblyman John Benoit, who is a candidate for the State Senate.
One of the front running candidates in that primary was businesswoman Rose Girard. Well, not anymore. We’ve found out that Girard has made a relatively sudden decision to end her candidacy, supposed to focus more on personal business opportunities. I’m sure that we’ll hear more about this. That said, her departure certainly leaves a vacuum in the field. But, she was also not the only candidate running. Others in the race include John Pate (Cons. Tim Clark/JohnsonClark), Kelly McCarty (Cons. Matt Rexroad/Meridian Pacific), and Angel Sanchez (Cons. Joe Giardello).
I caught up to the local State Senator (and a FlashReport correspondent) Jim Battin, who told me that he felt that Girard’s departure makes Kelly McCarty the front runner in the race.
In doing a little poking around tonight, it didn’t take me long to find a couple of folks who have heard that longtime GOP leader Brian Nestande is thinking about making a serious bid for this seat. We’ll put this at the "rumor" stage since I have not been able to confirm this with Brian as of my posting this. But I guess I can tell readers that Brian has been toiling in the vineyard for Republican causes for a long time. Brian was Chief of Staff to former Congressman Sonny Bono, and served as Mary Bono’s first Chief as well. He’s been a business consultant for seven or eight years now. He would be a formidable contender, and is very close to Bono and Benoit.
Anytime a major contender in a primary suddenly drops out, it makes for interesting politics. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more on this. Jim Battin may have some additional insights for us, and also Barry Nestande, Brian’s brother, writes for us. I will be disappointed if he cannot share some insight on the rumors of his brother’s potential candidacy!
August 24th, 2007 at 12:00 am
I think McCarty has tapped the well for all it is going to give and doesn’t have a lot of upside with the financial contributions.
Any idea what Rose will do with her contributions collected to date?