First off – John Garamendi is the incumbent. He is pond scum.
Garamendi bailed out on being Lt. Governor to run for Congress – Garamendi has never faced a full-force or sustained attack for his grotesque record as California Insurance Commissioner – as it is, he’s a tax-raiser and has followed Barack Obama off the cliff.
Kim Dolbow-Vann is the Establishment candidate. She is a former staffer of Doug Ose – one of the most liberal Republican Members of Congress at the time he served. Dolbow-Vann is also a tax-raiser / fee-raiser and appears to have ties to land owners that want to sell water rights to Southern California. Dolbow-Vann featured all of her Ose-ites as early supporters on the endorsement roster at her announcement.
The Consultants are swirling – it appears that Wayne Johnson is going to have a client in the race as well. (Maybe it is Dolbow-Vann?) We are expecting as many as six candidates as Republicans have demonstrated a pattern of stupidity – both in the form of the establishment squishes always recruiting a candidate for every seat, regardless of merit. The idealogues love to flock regardless of merit.
However, there is Retired Marine Colonel Charlie Schaupp – first off, he pulled 44% of the vote with a lightly funded campaign against liberal Republican Jim Nielsen in the previous Assembly Primary. (Nielsen recently led an effort to attempt the gutting of the Republican Party Platform) Schaupp has a following, name ID and most importantly – he opposes higher taxes and sending Northern California’s water to Southern California.
The new CD03 Race should be a whirlwind.
Update: I have been retained as a part-time consultant to the Charlie Schaupp Campaign.