ELECTIONS : GOP Voters Choose McClintock, Lagomarsino

Two well-entrenched Ventura County Republican lawmakers won easy victories in Tuesday’s primary and will face two women Democratic candidates in November who plan to challenge them on their opposition to abortion.

Sixteen-year incumbent Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) will be matched against Anita Perez Ferguson, a former aide to state Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), in the November contest.

Ferguson, a part-time consultant for Santa Barbara schools, won the Democratic primary despite a surprisingly strong showing from Mike McConnell, a construction manager from Ventura.

“The reality is that it looks like she is going to win it,” McConnell said. “I congratulate her and say, ‘Go get ‘em.’ ”

Eight-year incumbent Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) handily won the Republican primary, overcoming a spirited challenge from Camarillo tax attorney Kevin Staker.

“I concede,” Staker said Tuesday night. “And I wholeheartedly endorse my opponent. Although I would make a better assemblyman, he would be better than any Democrat.”

In November, McClintock will square off against Ginny Connell, a marriage and family therapist from Thousand Oaks. Connell ran unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

“The women of Ventura County are very strongly pro-choice,” Connell said. “Tom McClintock’s blatant attitude that choice is not an option for the women of California is very offensive to me and most women, including many who are registered Republicans.”

Ferguson also hopes to make a woman’s right to abortion the centerpiece of the race in the 19th Congressional District that straddles Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

“We have seen so much resentment built up over the fact that Lagomarsino continues to ignore the needs of women and families and the whole idea of choice,” she said.

Lagomarsino defended his position on the issues Tuesday. “I’m proud of my record,” he said.

The congressman said he considers Ferguson a serious opponent and will match her efforts, dollar for dollar, blow for blow.

Lagomarsino trounced his primary opponent Tuesday night. His GOP challenger, Alan Winterbourne, an unemployed computer systems engineer from Ventura, did not actively campaign because he said he didn’t want to split the party.

“I’m not surprised at the outcome,” Lagomarsino said. “But I’m always grateful when members of the party choose me as the nominee.”

Ferguson had a tighter victory over Mike McConnell in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

She established herself as the front-runner early in the campaign by grabbing the endorsement of the California Democratic Party at a state convention in April.

McConnell rejected the strategy of courting the inner circles of the Democratic Party in favor of taking his campaign directly to the voters, knocking on nearly 6,700 doors of Democratic voters from Lompoc to Oxnard.

In the Republican primary for Assembly, McClintock said he was unconcerned about his GOP opponent. Indeed, he virtually ignored him and spent most of his time campaigning against Proposition 111, a measure to increase the gas tax.

On Tuesday night, McClintock decided to forgo a victory party in Ventura County. Instead, he went to the gathering spot for the state Republican Party leaders at the Marriott Hotel near the Los Angeles International Airport.

“I am very grateful and thankful for this vote tonight,” McClintock said. “It is a public referendum and ratification of the direction that I have articulated.”

For a political newcomer, Staker mounted an aggressive campaign, attacking McClintock for having a combative style.

Staker said he hopes that McClintock learned a lesson from Staker’s challenge, the first Republican opponent McClintock has faced since he was first elected in 1982.

“I hope that he realizes there is no percentage in being an ideologue,” said Staker, who is also a Mormon bishop. “I hope he learned how to temper what he says and focus his energies in a positive direction for the good of the district and himself.”

In other legislative races, Sen. Hart will face Republican Carey Rogers, a Santa Barbara businesswoman, in the November election. And Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) will be challenged by Republican Connie O’Shaughnessy, a textile importer from Santa Barbara. All four of these candidates were uncontested in Tuesday’s primary.