For months, Democrat Larry Caballero sat back and watched his two Republican rivals tear each other to pieces. Now it's his turn to fight.
Caballero, 60, finished third in last week's three-person special election for a vacant state Senate seat in Orange County. But because no one got a majority vote, he will represent the Democrats in an uphill runoff election June 6 against Republican Assemblyman Tom Harman of Huntington Beach.
"I was really tickled pink" by the results, said Caballero, of La Palma. "Voters weren't interested in all of the negative campaigning."
While his opponents each spent hundred of thousands of dollars campaigning, he bragged that he did it without spending a dime.
Harman won with 38.8% of the vote; Dana Point City Councilwoman Diane Harkey got 38.5%, and Caballero got 22.7%. The results were certified Monday. Harkey has asked for a recount, and it will begin Wednesday, said Neal Kelley, acting Orange County registrar of voters.
Whoever his opponent is, the Democrat knows he faces a tough challenge in the 35th state Senate District. It's the most Republican Senate district in the state, and Caballero is not all that well known.
Just ask Republican strategist Adam Probolsky, who worked for Harkey. "There are certain truths to life that hold steady, and a Republican getting elected in the 35th district is just one of them," he said. Caballero shouldn't take it personally, he said. "He may be a nice guy. The voters may trust him to watch their children on Saturday night. But he ain't getting elected."
Caballero was unruffled. "I'm not going to let the Democratic voters down who want an alternative to Tom Harman," he said. "I know education issues. I'm an environmentalist. I support the working middle class. And illegal immigrants are getting a raw deal."
Harman said he was "kind of intrigued" by his opponent because he knew so little about him. He added that he was not taking him for granted and would campaign vigorously.
"I'm treating it very seriously," he said.
Harman's team members said they had already come up with a strategy. They will keep a close eye on the election, said campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Jacobs, and concentrate on getting a large Republican turnout June 6.
With an overwhelming Republican majority in the district, "the likelihood of a Democrat winning is the likelihood of hell freezing over," she said.
