In a stunning upset, conservative businessman and Tea Party activist Craig Huey appears to have defeated heavily-favored Democratic Secretary of State Debra Bowen for a runoff spot to succeed Rep. Jane Harman in Congress. Huey came from behind to finish 206 votes ahead of Bowen last night and will now face LA city councilwoman Janice Hahn in a July 12 runoff for the 36th congressional district. Huey was a California Young Americans for Freedom leader in his college days.
9,800 late-arriving votes remain to be counted (You can follow the add-on count drama at this handy link) http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/special/us-congress/district/36/ but Huey’s respected campaign manager Jimmy Camp told the Associated Press last night he is confident they’ve eliminated Bowen. The trend of last night’s vote count – – with Huey coming from behind to overhaul Ms. Bowen — appears to bear this out. Even the perennially liberal L.A. Times referred to the election outcome as a, “major upset“.
CD 36 leans Democratic, but with local Democrats now in disarray, and national conservative and Tea Party groups likely to get involved, Craig Huey has a chance on July 12th to be the Scott Brown of 2011, scoring a special election win of mythic proportions. His radio ads in the primary featured the voice of Rep. Tom McClintock urging voter support for Huey.
……..Locals Saw It Coming
Friends in LA County had told me for weeks that Huey had momentum. Last night they were proven to be correct. Congratulations to all in the Craig Huey campaign.
Here is the running special election vote count as of early this morning:
Janice Hahn… (D) …13,137 … (2)… Craig Huey… (R) …11,648 ……. (3) Debra Bowen (D) ….11,442