Francine Busby

Some deep thinker -- Aeschylus, Hobbes, Flip Wilson? -- suggested that when you're hot, you're hot, but when you're not ... well, you know the rest. Francine Busby, the Democratic nominee in the 50th Congressional District, was hot in the spring. In the fall, she's not. As her party's choice to grab the vacancy created when Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe) resigned last year and was imprisoned for bribery, Busby was lavished with help from fellow Democrats.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has begun an internal affairs investigation into a deputy's use of pepper spray to make an arrest at a political fundraiser. The probe was ordered after Democratic congressional hopeful Francine Busby met with Undersheriff Bill Gore to complain about the incident Friday at a home in a Cardiff neighborhood. Busby is seeking her party's nomination for a rematch next year with Rep.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday he is canceling his appearance at a fundraiser for congressional candidate Brian Bilbray, apparently over their differences on illegal immigration. McCain said he wanted to "avoid distracting from the overall message of the Bilbray campaign." Still, he said he endorses his fellow Republican to replace Randy "Duke" Cunningham in the 50th Congressional District. Bilbray supports an enforcement-oriented stand on illegal immigration.

Some deep thinker -- Aeschylus, Hobbes, Flip Wilson? -- suggested that when you're hot, you're hot, but when you're not ... well, you know the rest. Francine Busby, the Democratic nominee in the 50th Congressional District, was hot in the spring. In the fall, she's not. As her party's choice to grab the vacancy created when Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe) resigned last year and was imprisoned for bribery, Busby was lavished with help from fellow Democrats.

It's the rare election that offers both parties more reason for concern than optimism, but that may be exactly the verdict from last week's congressional special election in San Diego County. The result highlighted the GOP's continuing vulnerability in this year's battle for control of Congress. But it also suggested that Democrats are not yet positioned to squeeze the maximum benefit from that vulnerability.

Voters replacing the disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham were swayed more by party labels and name recognition than boiling issues like corruption and immigration, analysts said Wednesday. As a result, two familiar faces -- Democrat Francine Busby and Republican Brian Bilbray -- will probably face each other in a June runoff that, for all intents, could look a lot like Tuesday's free-for-all.

Republican Brian Bilbray beat Democrat Francine Busby to win the final seven months of the term of disgraced ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in a race where both national parties fought hard and spent freely in an effort to shape the fall elections nationwide. Bilbray got 49% of the vote to Busby's 45%. Two right-of-center minor candidates got 5%.

You might think the 50th Congressional District, with a military base at one end and a university at the other, would be ripe for a debate about the war in Iraq as voters choose a successor to the imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham. But you'd be wrong. Neither of the top contenders in the June runoff has shown much interest in discussing Iraq beyond carefully scripted answers.

As voters in the 50th Congressional District look to replace incarcerated Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the candidates are talking about sending messages. Brian Bilbray, a former GOP congressman attempting a comeback, says a vote for him is a message to the Iraqi insurgents that the U.S. will not cut and run, and a message to illegal immigrants not to expect quickie citizenship.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has begun an internal affairs investigation into a deputy's use of pepper spray to make an arrest at a political fundraiser. The probe was ordered after Democratic congressional hopeful Francine Busby met with Undersheriff Bill Gore to complain about the incident Friday at a home in a Cardiff neighborhood. Busby is seeking her party's nomination for a rematch next year with Rep.

It's the rare election that offers both parties more reason for concern than optimism, but that may be exactly the verdict from last week's congressional special election in San Diego County. The result highlighted the GOP's continuing vulnerability in this year's battle for control of Congress. But it also suggested that Democrats are not yet positioned to squeeze the maximum benefit from that vulnerability.

Republican Brian Bilbray beat Democrat Francine Busby to win the final seven months of the term of disgraced ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in a race where both national parties fought hard and spent freely in an effort to shape the fall elections nationwide. Bilbray got 49% of the vote to Busby's 45%. Two right-of-center minor candidates got 5%.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday he is canceling his appearance at a fundraiser for congressional candidate Brian Bilbray, apparently over their differences on illegal immigration. McCain said he wanted to "avoid distracting from the overall message of the Bilbray campaign." Still, he said he endorses his fellow Republican to replace Randy "Duke" Cunningham in the 50th Congressional District. Bilbray supports an enforcement-oriented stand on illegal immigration.

As voters in the 50th Congressional District look to replace incarcerated Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the candidates are talking about sending messages. Brian Bilbray, a former GOP congressman attempting a comeback, says a vote for him is a message to the Iraqi insurgents that the U.S. will not cut and run, and a message to illegal immigrants not to expect quickie citizenship.

You might think the 50th Congressional District, with a military base at one end and a university at the other, would be ripe for a debate about the war in Iraq as voters choose a successor to the imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham. But you'd be wrong. Neither of the top contenders in the June runoff has shown much interest in discussing Iraq beyond carefully scripted answers.

Voters replacing the disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham were swayed more by party labels and name recognition than boiling issues like corruption and immigration, analysts said Wednesday. As a result, two familiar faces -- Democrat Francine Busby and Republican Brian Bilbray -- will probably face each other in a June runoff that, for all intents, could look a lot like Tuesday's free-for-all.

Former U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray continues to lead Rancho Santa Fe businessman Eric Roach for the Republican slot on the June runoff ballot in the 50th Congressional District, election officials said Thursday. With about 1,000 provisional and absentee ballots yet to be counted, Bilbray leads by more than 1,000 votes. Democrat Francine Busby, with 44%, is assured a spot on the ballot to pick a successor to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Real estate developer Bill Hauf announced Monday that he will campaign for the Republican nomination in the 50th Congressional District on the June 6 ballot. Hauf spent $1.1 million trying to fill the final months of ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's term but got only 1.61% of the vote in the April 11 special election. Former Rep. Brian Bilbray won 15% to gain the GOP slot and faces Democrat Francine Busby in a runoff, also on June 6.