ELECTIONS ’88 SOUTHEAST / LONG BEACH : With Help From Reagan, North : Rohrabacher Joins Winners in Congress

A former White House speech writer is headed back to Washington.

Only this time, Dana Rohrabacher will eschew his executive branch service for a term in the legislative branch as the new congressman from the 42nd District that includes much of Long Beach.

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.

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

Must Determine Direction

“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.

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.

Six other congressmen triumphed in easy reelection contests in districts in the Southeast. Even Rep. Matthew G. (Marty) Martinez (D-Monterey Park), whose seat had been targeted by the Republicans, handily won a new term.

The 42nd District was the only seat up for grabs. It 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 seven years, Rohrabacher, 41, 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.

Backed by President

Rohrabacher’s longtime 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.

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

At an election-eve rally Monday at the Queen Mary, the President praised Rohrabacher for serving with distinction at the White House and said he looked forward to his Rohrabacher’s election to Congress.

Rohrabacher received national attention a week before the June primary when former Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, the Iran-Contra figure, swept into Long Beach for an airport rally and evening fund-raiser. Rohrabacher credits North’s appearance with propelling him to a primary victory in the 52% Republican district.

Rohrabacher, a former editorial writer for the Orange County Register, was a registered Libertarian when he joined the Reagan Administration in January, 1981. He later changed his registration to Republican.

In the 32nd District, Rep. 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 by a 2-1 ratio.

Rep. Martinez dashed an attempt by the GOP to unseat him with a well-financed challenge by Republican Ralph R. Ramirez. Martinez won easily for another two-year term in the 30th District, which includes Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Commerce and Maywood.

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.

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.

Help From Kennedy

Martinez brought out Sen. Edward 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.

Rep. Esteban E. Torres (D-La Puente) defeated a challenger who also made personal charges during their race in the 34th District, which includes south Whittier, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera.

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

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, who received more than 60% of the vote, was not available for comment.

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 a military barracks. Dreier’s 33rd District includes Whittier and La Mirada.

Elected to Third Term

Rep. Robert 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 more than 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 and Jeffrey Perlman contributed to this article.