Cox Takes Lead in 40th District; Wieder Trails

C. Christopher Cox, a virtual unknown in Orange County before he left his job as a lawyer in the White House to run for Congress, took a decisive early lead Tuesday night in the bitterly contested race for the Republican nomination in the heavily GOP 40th District.

In early returns, Cox, 35, of Newport Beach, was outpolling the two other leading candidates in the race--Irvine Councilman C. David Baker, 35, and Newport Beach businessman Nathan Rosenberg, 36. The three men were among nine Republicans vying to succeed retiring Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach).

After hearing the latest results over a walkie-talkie that indicated he was ahead with 38% of the early returns, Cox said to supporters gathered in a crowded suite at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange, “Let’s halt those results right now.”

In the staunchly Republican 42nd District, another former White House employee, presidential speech writer Dana Rohrabacher, was leading in the early vote over Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder and former Cal State Long Beach President Stephen Horn.

In all, there were eight Republicans seeking the seat that opened up when Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach) decided not to seek a sixth term in order to pursue his legal battle to be confirmed as state treasurer.

Rohrabacher, 40, who was considered a long shot in the race, was assisted in his effort by a last-minute campaign appearance by retired Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, a hero to conservative causes despite his indictment on conspiracy charges in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Rohrabacher’s political consultant, Allan Hoffenblum, said Rohrabacher also was aided by the fact that Wieder, 67, and Horn, 57, attacked each other in the mail while ignoring Rohrabacher because they did not think he was a threat.

In the 40th Congressional District, it was a campaign of contrasting styles.

Ideologically, there was little difference between Baker, Cox and Rosenberg. Each professed a strong allegiance to the conservative way, and on most fiscal and foreign matters endorsed the same positions.

But differences in how Baker, Cox and Rosenberg campaigned for the GOP nomination speak volumes about their personalities.

Rosenberg, who was unsuccessful two years ago in a primary bid to unseat Badham, relied heavily on a ground game that has employed more than 1,200 volunteers going door-to-door in the majority of the district’s 675 precincts.

Baker, too, made direct contact with voters, holding more than 100 coffees in the district, which stretches from Fountain Valley to Newport Beach to Laguna Hills. Baker also played up his endorsements from key party activists in the county, including Badham and state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach).

Cox, meanwhile, banked on a massive direct mail push. He spent close to $600,000 to get himself known in the district, where he had not lived for two years. Formerly senior associate White House counsel, he built much of his candidacy on his ties to Washington and President Reagan.

Cox also was aided by campaign appearances by two famous conservatives: former Lt. Col. North and Robert H. Bork, whose appointment by President Reagan to the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected by the U.S. Senate.

In the Democratic primary in the 40th District, Laguna Beach Councilwoman Lida Lenney was leading in early returns. Lenney put on a strong campaign against George Margolis, a Newport Beach resident who is a volunteer at the West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital.

In the 42nd District, Orange County Supervisor Wieder started out as the front-runner. Confronted by an opponent who had checked her educational background, Wieder admitted early in the campaign that she never had gone to college, although she had for 25 years claimed to have a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University.

Wieder, who was endorsed by Lungren, also came under heavy criticism for her votes as a supervisor in favor of development agreements.

Two of her opponents, Horn and former White House advance man Andrew Littlefair, 27, seized on the slow-growth issue and effectively used it as a tool against Wieder in the campaign. In particular, they criticized her repeatedly for financing her campaign in large measure with money from the development and construction industry.

Rohrabacher carved out a constituency among the more conservative elements of the district, which covers parts of both Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Among Democrats, Guy Kimbrough of Huntington Beach, a political science instructor at Mt. San Jacinto College in San Jacinto, was leading in early returns against Ada Unruh of Torrance and Dan Farrell of Huntington Beach. Peace and Freedom Party candidate Richard D. Rose was unopposed.

In other races:

In the 38th District, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), Democrat Jerry Yudelson and Peace and Freedom Party member Frank German were unopposed for their parties’ nominations.

In the 39th District, Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) easily won the Republican nomination over Yorba Linda attorney John M. Gullixson. Don E. Marquis of Woodland Hills, a follower of political extremist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr., was listed as the only Democrat on the ballot. Times staff writer Steven R. Churm also contributed to this story.