GOP Nearing Deadline in Quest for a Sherman Foe

Republicans are still scrambling to field a candidate against Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman one week before the deadline after their top hope, former Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, announced he will not be “Takin’ It To the Streets” after all.

Baxter, a beret-wearing ‘70s guitarist icon, said in a statement he was passing on a House bid because it would get in the way of his work as a ballistic missile defense advocate, a somewhat surprising role that has made him friends among Republicans in Washington.

Baxter, 50, jumped into the hot-button topic when he discovered the technology involved bore a resemblance to cutting-edge guitar synthesizer equipment.

“To mount the kind of campaign needed to win would have required me to put aside both my music and my work as a defense analyst for the next year,” Baxter said in a recent statement. “. . . At this time, I think I can most effectively influence the debate as a private citizen.”

Democrats, however, attributed Baxter’s decision to a Republican Party poll that found overwhelming support for Sherman in the 24th Congressional District, which stretches from the southern San Fernando Valley and Malibu into Calabasas and Thousand Oaks.

“I’ve heard some very nice things about myself from the Republican establishment,” the Sherman Oaks legislator quipped. “They haven’t been willing to share the results of this poll with me, but I understand it shows I am very popular. I think that’s the reason they’re having problems.”

Republican Party officials confirmed existence of the poll--in which 50% of voters indicated they would cast ballots for Sherman if an election were held today--and acknowledged it did not bode well for them. But Baxter spokesman Dale Neugebauer said the poll, which also showed voters were not bothered by a Baxter background that included drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, played no part in the former Doobie’s decision.

“He has a real passion for politics, mostly for the defense issues, but for a lot of other issues as well,” Neugebauer said. “I would not rule out a run for Skunk in the future.”

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Whatever the case, it’s the present that concerns Republican officials. GOP recruiters are still working to enlist a strong candidate to run against Sherman by next Friday’s deadline, and party officials insist he will not be given a free ride. Since he was elected in 1996, Sherman, a Harvard-schooled tax attorney, has been a top Republican target in the battle for control of the House.

“Brad Sherman is certainly vulnerable,” said one GOP official, who requested anonymity. “We’re going to make sure Brad Sherman knows we are there. He is still a target.”

The same official, however, acknowledged Republicans may have less to work with now that Baxter has bowed out.

“Skunk had notoriety. He was a rocker,” the source said. “We’re not talking about people like that anymore. We’re talking about local businesspeople.”

Only one Republican, Irv Rubin, has taken out papers to run against Sherman, and he has not turned them in, according to the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office. But Rubin, the controversial leader of the extremist Jewish Defense League, is considered too extreme by some Republicans, who are hoping to find a more moderate candidate.

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Some Republicans were hoping that candidate would be Glen Longarini of Thousand Oaks, a vice president with developer Brookfield Homes and a member of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California.

But Longarini, who attended a GOP candidates’ camp to prepare for a race, has decided not to run after weighing his chances and talking to local Republican activists, sources said. He could not be reached Friday for comment.

Sherman said he feels more relaxed about his reelection than ever.

“I would have enjoyed it, I would have been on ‘Politically Incorrect’ all I wanted,” he said of a race versus Baxter. “That would have been a fun campaign. But I’ll take an easy race if I can get it . . . I have done a good job over the past 12 months, and I think I’m probably more popular than ever.”