Bush to Push for Wilson in Visit to County

President George Bush, in a last-minute effort to get out the vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Pete Wilson, is scheduled to appear at a campaign rally next Saturday in Thousand Oaks.

Wilson was invited to speak at California Lutheran University by members of the Republican Students Speakers Bureau, said Jean Sandlin, university public information director.

Sandlin said Wilson’s campaign representatives contacted university officials Thursday about the presidential visit, but are still completing plans.

Bush is scheduled to appear with Wilson at a morning rally in the university gym, a Wilson campaign spokeswoman said.

The last-minute appearance by the President is expected to give the senator extra visibility in what has become a tight race for the governor’s seat. Wilson is in a dead heat in the race for governor with his Democratic opponent, former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein.

Bush has scheduled a series of last-minute appearances across the country to stump for GOP candidates before the Nov. 6 election.

In Ventura County, campaign spokesmen for Congressmen Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) said they did not know if the candidates would attend the rally. Both were still in Washington to participate in the congressional debate over a new budget.

One GOP candidate who said he expected to attend Wilson’s rally at Cal Lutheran is Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks).

McClintock said Wilson has differed with the President on raising taxes. But Bush’s visit might boost the senator’s political ratings at a critical time in the campaign, he said.

“If a presidential visit draws more attention to hear Pete Wilson, so much the better,” McClintock said.

Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), however, said the impact of Bush’s visit on voters will depend heavily on whether Congress passes the federal budget before the election.

“It’s kind of a mixed bag for a simple reason: Everyone’s really concerned about what’s going on with the budget,” Wright said. “If there’s taxes included in the budget, there’s going to be some fallout on that.”

Wright said she did not expect the presidential visit to affect her bid to retain her seat in the 37th District. McClintock is favored to win his race in the 36th District.

Nevertheless, Bush’s trip to Cal Lutheran will be the first presidential visit in the 31-year-history of the campus, university President Jerry Miller said. The visit is expected to draw a bipartisan audience from throughout the county and from among the university’s students.

“I imagine most Republican candidates within 50 miles of the Cal Lutheran campus will seek to get involved in this event,” Miller said. “I suspect that this will be an exciting political experience for our students.”