Newport Beach : GOP Congressmen Endorse Badham

California’s Republican congressmen have closed ranks around one of their own.

Reps. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), Bobbi Fiedler (R-Northridge), Ed Zschau (R-Los Altos) and 14 other members of the House of Representatives endorsed five-term Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) for reelection.

They did so Thursday even though Badham, 56, is facing a challenge from a Republican, Nathan Rosenberg, 33, a management consultant. Party policy usually encourages a no-endorsement stance in races where two Republicans compete.

Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), who rounded up the signatures, said the endorsement “was not difficult to do because Bob is such a popular and capable member of Congress. . . . I don’t know Mr. Rosenberg,” he said. “I just know we can’t afford to lose someone with seniority.”

Rosenberg, a former Young Republicans president who defied many leading Orange County Republicans to run against Badham, said he had not heard of the delegation’s endorsement before and did not want to comment on why Badham received it.

Badham aide Bill Schreiber called the delegation’s endorsement “a demonstration that a challenge to a veteran quality incumbent is not going to be tolerated. It goes back to that whole thing called party unity.”

Badham is facing perhaps the toughest primary challenge in his 10 years in Congress from Rosenberg, who is running an apparently well-financed, aggressive campaign that repeatedly attacks Badham for his alleged absenteeism and round-the-world junkets.