46th District

The only truly competitive congressional race this year in Orange County matches incumbent Republican Robert K. Dornan against Democrat Loretta Sanchez. Dornan prides himself on being a leading Republican accuser of Democratic President Bill Clinton. Too often his comments have been out of line. Last year, they were too much even for a Congress with a new Republican majority.

Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) seemed likely to capture the GOP nomination for the 46th Congressional District, while three Democrats were locked in a tight battle Tuesday night to challenge Dornan in November. In the 41st Congressional District, which dips into Orange County, incumbent Rep. Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar) appeared likely to overcome an ongoing federal probe into his campaign finances and capture the GOP nomination over Upland businessman Bob Kerns.

Two Democratic congressional candidates, a scant 142 votes apart, remained hopeful of victory Wednesday as the registrar of voters conducted a ballot-by-ballot count of absentee votes to decide who will challenge incumbent Rep. Robert K. Dornan. Mike Farber, a heavily endorsed Santa Ana businessman, is narrowly ahead of Robert John Banuelos, with 4,625 votes or about 29% of the vote. Banuelos, a Santa Ana senior citizens counselor, received 4,483 for 28.

Re "Dornan Primary War Leaves Bitter Hangover," (June 17): It is obvious that Dana Parsons captured some very deep frustrations; however, I would like to put a little more context to the article. The frustrations are not just over the Dornan/Ryan campaign, but go back much further than that. Perhaps the point that I did not articulate clearly is that not only do I not see these "small men" as powerful, but I have little regard for the backbiting, lack of integrity and intolerance to different viewpoints.

A lively contest between two Latino Democrats in a newly realigned Assembly district on Tuesday may be the clearest test yet of Supervisor Gloria Molina's growing status as a powerbroker in the Latino community. Fighting for the Democratic nomination in the 46th Assembly District are Berta (Bert) Saavedra, a top aide to Assemblywoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, and West Point and Harvard-educated Louis Caldera, who is on leave from his job as a deputy county counsel.

In a last-minute push to raise cash, a top aide to Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) pleaded with Washington lobbyists for campaign contributions to fend off an unexpectedly tough primary challenge. In telephone calls made last week, the aide reportedly told lobbyists who represent Orange County interests that a private poll shows Dornan's Tuesday primary opponent, former Orange County Superior Court Judge Judith A. Ryan, trailing by only 5 percentage points.

Rep. Robert K. Dornan's attack-style politics and millions of dollars in contributions have long made him Orange County's 400-pound gorilla at the polls--able to scare off formidable rivals and easily defeat those who challenge him. Two years ago, Dornan had just one opponent--a Democrat who withdrew shortly after the race started, even though her party held a majority among voters registered in Dornan's central county district. This time, though, things are different.

Declaring it "a good year for women candidates," former Superior Court Judge Judith M. Ryan on Wednesday officially kicked off her campaign to unseat conservative Rep. Robert K. Dornan. Her formal entry into the race for the seat in the newly formed 46th District followed pressure from Dornan and Orange County Republican Chairman Tom Fuentes that she stay out of the June 2 Republican primary.