CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS SENATE DISTRICT 31 : Hill Is Strong Favorite in Heavily GOP 31st District

It has been just more than three months since Gov. George Deukmejian scheduled the special election to replace veteran former state Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights).

A field of eight candidates was reduced to three in February after a vicious primary battle in which the campaigns combined to spend an estimated $2 million.

On Tuesday, voters in the 31st state Senate District will go to the polls in the general election to choose a new senator.

Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier), the Republican nominee, is the favorite to win, largely because the seat is in the third most Republican Senate district in California. Republicans hold a registration advantage of about 54% to the Democrats’ 36%.

Hill is opposed by Democrat Janice Graham and American Independent Party candidate Robert Lewis.

The district straddles the boundary between Los Angeles and Orange counties and stretches from Whittier and West Covina on the north to Laguna Beach in the south. It also includes La Mirada and La Habra Heights.

For the most part, the campaign strategy for almost all of Hill’s opponents has been to attack the Whittier assemblyman. And the two most common issues have been abortion and ethics.

Graham, who beat two other Democrats in the Feb. 6 primary, recently produced her only mailer for the general election campaign consisting of an eight-page attack on Hill. The mailer focuses on Hill’s connection to a federal influence-peddling investigation in Sacramento that caused FBI agents to raid his office more than a year ago.

Hill has not been charged with any crime and denies any wrongdoing.

Hill, meanwhile, has largely campaigned on his eight-year record in the Assembly and the support he has received from state Republican leaders, including campaign appearances from Deukmejian and Sen. Pete Wilson. His recent literature mailed to the district also highlights his local roots.

Hill, 36, grew up in Diamond Bar, graduated from Rowland High School and attended Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.