7 Incumbents Coast to Wins : Martinez Survives a Republican Blitz

The Republicans went gunning for Rep. Matthew G. (Marty) Martinez. They supplied his election opponent, Ralph R. Ramirez, with cash, national exposure and visits by prominent party members.

But the incumbent, a Monterey Park Democrat, was not as vulnerable as he appeared, crushing Ramirez in the 30th District, which includes Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Commerce and Maywood. Martinez received about 60% of the vote.

A campaign of personal attacks on Rep. Esteban E. Torres (D-La Puente) also failed, as Republican Charles House was defeated in his bid to unseat the three-term incumbent in the 34th District, which includes south Whittier, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera.

Martinez and Torres were among seven incumbent congressmen who rolled to victory in districts in the Southeast and Long Beach. In the region’s only race without an incumbent, Republican Dana Rohrabacher, a former White House speech writer, was elected as expected in the 42nd District.

Help From the GOP

In the 30th District race, Ramirez had received GOP help in trying to knock off Martinez. Ramirez was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention and received $45,000 in donations from the National Republican Congressional Committee. Overall, he expected to spend about $300,000 against Martinez, who spent about $100,000.

“If they want to keep wasting their money, let them,” Martinez said after the victory. “A Republican can win if he can walk on water.”

Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) campaigned for Ramirez and called him one of the two or three top Republican congressional challengers in the nation.

Martinez trotted out Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to stump for him against Ramirez after winning a rancorous primary battle. The primary was marked by allegations that Martinez misused office funds, abused his office staff and took holiday trips at public expense. He denied the allegations.

Torres beat House in the 34th District, which includes south Whittier, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera, by a healthy margin, receiving more than 63% of the vote.

During the campaign, House accused Torres of profiting illegally on a business loan from an anti-poverty agency he founded. Torres denied any wrongdoing, saying the loan was a private matter that did not involve public funds.

House Has No Regrets

Despite the loss, House said he has no regrets about running a negative campaign.

“People have a right to know these kinds of things about their congressman,” House said.

House, a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff from Hacienda Heights who also lost to Torres in the 1986 election, said he will run again in 1990. “I know Torres is just too liberal for the people of this district,” House said.

Torres was not available for comment.

Republican Rohrabacher of Lomita banked heavily on his connection to President Reagan in soundly defeating Democrat Guy C. Kimbrough of Huntington Beach in Tuesday’s elections.

The 42nd District seat was vacated by Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach), who decided against seeking a sixth term as he unsuccessfully battled in the Legislature for confirmation as state treasurer.

A White House speech writer for the past 7 years, the 41-year-old Rohrabacher became the odds-on favorite to win the seat last June after scoring a come-from-behind victory over seven other GOP candidates in a hard-fought Republican primary contest. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Kimbrough by a 2-1 ratio.

Attending an Election Night GOP bash at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange, Rohrabacher wore a “Congressman Rohrabacher” name tag and sounded a little overwhelmed by his victory.

“I’m just going to have to sit down and take a deep breath and try to determine where to go from here,” he said.

Rohrabacher’s long-time association with President Reagan provided the basis for his campaign theme, “A Reagan Republican for Congress.” The Reagan connection was hammered home to voters throughout the primary in mailers that featured a glowing testimonial letter from the President and pictures of Reagan and Rohrabacher in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One.

Sent One Mailer

In the fall, Rohrabacher sent just one mailer to voters in the solidly Republican district. It featured Reagan and Vice President George Bush, for whom Rohrabacher campaigned extensively in recent months.

Rep. Glenn M. Anderson (D-Harbor City), whose 32nd District also includes a large chunk of Long Beach, cruised to an easy victory over Republican Sanford Kahn.

Anderson ran a low-profile campaign and capitalized on the strength of 20 years in office and a record of bringing big federal projects to his district. He beat Kahn, 2 to 1.

Rep. David Dreier (R-La Verne) won nearly 3 to 1 over Nelson Gentry, a Democrat who advocated forcing congressmen to work 12-hour days and live in military barracks. Dreier’s 33rd District includes Whittier and La Mirada.

Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) cruised to a third term in the 38th District, which includes Cerritos, without conducting pre-election press interviews. He concentrated on campaigning nationally for the Republican presidential ticket. He beat Democrat Jerry Yudelson, a Santa Ana business consultant.

Democrats had built a strong voter registration lead over Republicans in Dornan’s district--50% to 41%--and hoped to make it a close race.

“We went out and told the story of why we felt Dornan was vulnerable,” Yudelson said Tuesday night. “At least I was able to convince a large number of people that I was a good candidate.”

Rep. Augustus F. (Gus) Hawkins (D-Los Angeles), who has served in Congress since 1962, ran a low-key campaign and still won with his usual plurality of about 80%. The 81-year-old congressman defeated Republican Reuben D. Franco in the 29th District that includes Huntington Park, South Gate and part of Downey.

Rep. Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton) easily topped Republican Arnold C. May in the 31st District that includes Compton, Lynwood, Paramount and Bellflower.

Times staff writers Mary Lou Fulton, Jeffrey Perlman and Jeffrey L. Rabin contributed to this story.