Central Coast Vote and the GOP
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Commenting on the special election for the congressional seat representing California’s Central Coast (“Huffington’s Legacy Still Afflicts the GOP,” March 12), George Skelton dutifully parrots the liberal Democrat spin that suggests Republican candidate Tom Bordonaro “was just too right wing.”
Skelton conveniently fails to mention that Bordonaro was outspent by 2 to 1. And in addition to the $1.6 million spent by the Lois Capps campaign itself, outside interest groups contributed another $700,000 in ads attacking Bordonaro. Curiously, the issue-oriented groups attacking Bordonaro included some that advocate term limits (typically a conservative issue) even though Bordonaro says he would support a constitutional amendment to limit terms while Capps opposes such measures.
The only real message was an old and obvious one: A challenger who is substantially outspent is unlikely to win. There was, however, an interesting question raised by this election. With their coffers overflowing compared with Democrats plagued by the fund-raising scandal, why did the Republican National Committee allow Bordonaro’s campaign to be so financially overmatched?
CHRISTOPHER M. SCHNAUBELT
Santa Maria
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