Cox’s SEC Prospect May Spark Hot Race

With President Bush expected to nominate U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Orange County Republicans on Wednesday predicted major political interest in the safe GOP seat.

Heading the list of potential candidates is state Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine. Others include state Assembly members Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine), Todd Spitzer (R-Orange) and Mimi Walters (R-Laguna Niguel). Former GOP Assemblywoman Pat Bates of Laguna Niguel was also a possibility.

“Everybody’s going to be interested,” said former state Sen. Marian Bergeson of Newport Beach, a longtime GOP activist who was also a county supervisor. “Frankly, this is a real plum.”

Cox’s 48th Congressional District is one of the most Republican in the state, with GOP voters outnumbering Democrats almost 2 to 1. In the last election, Cox won 65% of the vote to Democrat John Graham’s 33%. Graham, who also ran against Cox in 2000 and 2002, said he would consider seeking the seat again.

The district stretches along the coast from Newport Beach to Dana Point and includes all or parts of Irvine, Tustin, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo and San Juan Capistrano.

Ackerman said he intended to look closely at the race. “Sure, I’d be interested in that,” he said. “It’s my district. [But] you don’t start planning for these things unless they actually happen.”

Bates, who left the Assembly last year because of term limits, said she did not expect to deviate from her plan to run for county supervisor next year.

The fight to succeed Cox would be “hotly contested,” she said. As for herself, “this is definitely a fork in the road, but at the moment I would continue on the path that I’m on.”

DeVore, whose legislative district falls within Cox’s own, said a number of people have called to urge him to run. He said he had not made a decision.

“Frankly, given Congressman Cox’s reputation for hard work and intelligence, I’m honored to even be considered worthy of being a potential replacement.”

Cox, who served as a lawyer in the Reagan White House, was first elected to the House in 1988, defeating 15 Republicans.

Before he became the SEC prospect, Cox had been considered for a number of other jobs, including CIA director and justice on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He twice flirted with a run for California’s U.S. Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein.

Orange County Republican officials cheered the news about Cox, whom the U.S. Senate would have to approve.

“Chris Cox is eminently qualified for a position that requires intellectual depth and the highest integrity, and that’s precisely what the SEC needs,” said Scott Baugh, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party.

Ackerman called Cox “an excellent appointment, based on his prior experience and legal background.... He’s very fair, very knowledgeable and well-respected by all sides.”

Times staff writer Jean O. Pasco contributed to this report.