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Jon Fleischman

35th Senate Seat Race Shaping Up

With State Senator John Campbell running as the Republican nominee in a Congressional District that is so overwhelmingly GOP in registration that he is a shoo-in (the special ‘general’ election for this House race is in early December) – it means that the contest has already begun for a yet-to-be-called special election to fill his 35th State Senate seat.  (Support the FR and click Campbell’s ad to the right, just for kicks.)
 
Like the 48th Congressional District that was vacated by it’s incumbent, Chris Cox, when he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as W’s appointee to be Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the 35th District is safe, safe, SAFE GOP turf.  So all of the action is the primary.
 
The first candidate to jump into the race is Assemblyman Tom Harman, who represents a sizable piece of the Senate Seat already from his Huntington Beach-based Assembly seat.  As I often say, Harman is a physical representation of that monstrosity called the "Open Primary Initiative" which passed, and was in play for one primary season before being struck down by the courts.  (I am forever proud of having been Executive Director at the State GOP when we devoted the substantial and necessary legal fees to battle this all of the way to the Supreme Court.  Ultimately the fees were awarded back to the GOP, but after my two years there had passed.) 
 
Anyways, Harman has never been someone of particular loyalty to the Grand Old Party, nor does he seem to have an overall defining ideology.  His track record in the Assembly is filled with votes that align him with Democrats much of the time, and he is distrusted by the right, as he should be – there is an adage in politics, "Dance with the one that brung ya," which refers to where your core loyalties lie.  Harman’s legislative career will always have as its foundation a reliance on very non-traditional, non-GOP supporters to gain his first election (I still call the winner of the most Republican votes in that first primary, who SHOULD have been the nominee, "Assemblyman Jim Righeimer").
 
Ironically, one of our own FR blog team, Duane Dichiara, in his role as a political consultant, is representing Harmon in his bid, along with his able partner, Jennifer Jacobs.  In my conversations with Duane, he has been quite diligent in making his argument for Harman, and I am sure (and would be disappointed in Duane) if he didn’t make his cogent case to the political community here on the blog (what’s the point of being a FR blogger, which pays nothing, if you can’t shamelessly plug the people that pay you?  As long as you let the readers know your conflict.)
 
The convention ‘first-spin’ on Harman is that because of his high name I.D., especially in the northern part of this district that stretches literally along the entire coast of the county, he is the ‘one to beat’ — but I don’t necessarily buy that.  This is Orange County, and even along the water’s edge, voters aren’t too forgiving when candidates seek their vote who have a track record of supporting higher taxes and bigger government.
 
Enter the second candidate in the race, thus far, Diane Harkey.  Harkey is a relative newcomer to politics, as a freshman member of the Dana Point City Council.  I’ve met her a couple of times, most recently a brief chat with she and her capable consultant, Scott Hart, in a restaurant parking lot.  Harkey starts with a distinct disadvantage on the name-ID front, but her ‘great equalizers’ may be her deep pockets, and the fact that she is already campaigning as the ideological soul mate of John Campbell, a conservative (something Harman will not be able to credibly do).
 
Whether someone else will get into the race, it is a tad too-soon to tell.  But it will be interesting to watch this race shape up.  FR bloggers Fleischmand and Probolsky live in this district, and I mentioned Dichiara’s interest, so I am sure we’ll see a lot in this special election played out right here!
 
Speaking of Adam, I saw his post on Harkey and the Border Patrol Initiative.  While Harkey gets some kudos for supporting the measure, it isn’t that much of a stretch for a conservative Republican to support that measure.  If anything, her being named as a Co-Chairman of that initiative drive may be an early example of what her deep pockets get for her — if I know Haynes and Gilliard, that ‘title’ came after a generous contribution to the effort. 
 
So much fun, and the seat isn’t even open yet!   (The post below was so nice to Harkey, I wonder if Hart has hired Adam?  Naw, he’d let us know that!)

Here’s my first piece of advice for both Harman and Harkey, click here to purchase an ad on the FlashReport!