Huffington Denies Report of Plans to Sell Home

A spokeswoman for Rep. Mike Huffington, who lost a costly and bitter U.S. Senate race to Democrat Dianne Feinstein on Nov. 8, said Friday that Huffington has no plans to move from his Santa Barbara-area mansion and is not putting the property up for sale.

Reports that Huffington and his wife, Arianna, were going to list the Italian-style home known as Villa Ruscello with a realty agent were unfounded "and a little bizarre," Jennifer Grossman, a spokeswoman for the family, said in a telephone interview from Washington.

"They have no interest in selling the home," Grossman said.

In fact, Grossman added, the Huffingtons have moved Arianna Huffington's ailing father from Greece to the Montecito house to live with them.

The report that the Huffingtons planned to put the house on the market originated in the San Francisco Examiner early this week. A version of the report distributed by the Associated Press appeared in The Times on Thursday.

Huffington spent $27.5 million of his personal fortune on his losing Senate race.