ShareThisBy JUDY LIN
Friday, November 10, 2006
One of the Legislature's few competitive seats remained too close to call Wednesday as Republican Lynn Daucher led Democrat Lou Correa by just 13 votes out of nearly 78,000 counted in the Orange County-based 34th state Senate District.
Election workers in Orange County still had an estimated 20,000 or more late absentee and provisional ballots to count before determining the winner of the race to succeed Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, who is being termed out this year.
While both sides remained optimistic that their candidate would come out on top, the remainder of the state Legislature stayed the same as incumbents held on to their seats.
If Correa holds the seat for Democrats, it would be the second election in a row in which no legislative seats changed party hands. Democrats maintained a 48-32 advantage in the Assembly. Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, won a tough re-election battle, while Cathleen Galgiani of Tracy held the open 17th Assembly District seat for Democrats after a pitched fight with Republican Gerry Machado.
In the 40-member Senate, where half the seats went up for election, GOP leaders had hoped to erode the Democrat's 25-15 voting advantage by gaining Dunn's seat. A win would give Republicans more say in approving certain bills and the state budget, which requires 27 votes to pass.
"There may be certain measures where one seat could be crucial," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. "2006 was a very good (budget) year but we can't count on good times to last forever. Legislators may have to deal with very difficult issues regarding cuts and those votes can hinge on one or two numbers."
The race in Orange County was filled with attack ads, and the cost to both campaigns and independent committees topped $7 million, according to the Secretary of State. The margin didn't surprise either side as polling had indicated a tight race. Both parties had legal teams monitoring the count, which involves tallying absentee ballots that were turned in on Election Day and provisional ballots.
"There were a lot of ballots turned in at polling places," said Brett Rowley, a spokesman for the Orange County Registrar of Voters. "We picked them up at polling places and post offices."
Republican leaders claimed their candidates do better in absentee voting; Democrats countered that a last-minute "vote by mail" campaign would buoy Correa's chances.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said he was confident Correa would take the lead even though Republican registration has gone up two percentage points since 2002 in a district that includes Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana. Voter registration in the district favors Democrats, 41 percent to 38 percent.
"Democrats had a huge turnout, as we saw throughout the rest of the country," Perata said. "I think we'll be in good shape by the time we're done."
Correa, a former assemblyman now serving as an Orange County supervisor, enjoyed the backing of labor, real estate and business groups.
Daucher, a former school board member and current assemblywoman, was urged by Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman for her moderate views.
Ackerman said returning Sen. Jeff Denham to Sacramento had been his top priority in the general election. Denham, R-Merced, defeated challenger Wiley Nickel by 20 percentage points for a second term.
His next priority was trying to wrestle the 34th District from Democrats.
"We think she will maintain the lead and probably increase it," Ackerman said of Daucher.
Pitney said the lack of competitive state races was the direct result of politicians gerrymandering districts.
"This is what happens when politicians pick their voters instead of the other way around," he said.
