Dannemeyer to Challenge Seymour in 1992 Primary

Rep. William E. Dannemeyer, the combative Orange County congressman whose career has been built on crusades against abortion, homosexual rights and government spending, has made a firm decision to oppose U.S. Sen.-designate John Seymour in the 1992 Republican primary, The Times has learned.

Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), who was first elected to the House in 1978 from the 39th Congressional District, is planning to announce the decision early next week, sources said Tuesday.

To challenge Seymour, Dannemeyer must give up his House seat, according to a spokeswoman for the California secretary of state.

“He’s ready to move up or move out,” said a source familiar with Dannemeyer’s intentions.

The expected announcement, to come only days after Seymour is sworn in as Gov. Pete Wilson’s replacement in the U.S. Senate, represents a preemptive strike that is intended to forestall other conservative challenges to Seymour, a former state senator from Anaheim.

Although he said he is “seriously considering” a run for the U.S. Senate, Dannemeyer--who was host for a town hall meeting Tuesday evening in Brea--declined to comment on whether he has made a final decision.

Dannemeyer spokesman Brett Barbre said: “Stay tuned. Someone will run against Seymour. He (Dannemeyer) is looking at it, but others are too.”

Seymour was not available for immediate comment.

Although Dannemeyer regularly wins contests in his own district with more than 60% of the vote, his prospects for success in a statewide race against Seymour are considered uncertain, if not marginal.

“It would be a very tough race for him,” one Dannemeyer supporter said.

Others expressed outright skepticism.

“There are some conservatives who can give Seymour a hard run, but it is not Dannemeyer,” said Bruce Nestande, a former assemblyman and Orange County supervisor long active in Republican politics. “There is an element out there who will back him, but where is he going to get financial support?”

Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who had been considering his own primary challenge to Seymour, said: “My feeling is that he (Dannemeyer) is deadly serious about it. . . . In the rumor department, on a scale of one to 10 . . . I would say these rumors have a quality of nine or 10.”

As a result, Dornan said, he has decided to focus instead on a possible bid for the other California U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in 1992. That seat is being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston.

Dannemeyer’s expected announcement against Seymour “kind of preempts the field,” Dornan added. “He kind of caught me flatfooted.”

Many conservative Republicans were upset with Wilson’s choice of Seymour, largely because Seymour, who lost a bid for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor last year, has reversed his position from opposition to abortion rights to support for legal abortion.

Also mentioned as a potential Seymour challenger is Los Angeles radio commentator Bruce Herschensohn.

Dannemeyer has already told representatives of conservative groups, such as the California Republican Assembly and the state branch of Young Americans for Freedom, that he will mount the challenge, sources familiar with the discussions said.

“He has made calls,” one source said. “He’s going for it.”

Dannemeyer originally planned to make the announcement Friday at press conferences in Los Angeles and Sacramento but decided to postpone the move so he could return to Washington today to participate in a House debate on the crisis in the Persian Gulf.

Seymour flew to Washington on Tuesday night with Vice President Dan Quayle, aboard Air Force II. He is to spend today in orientation sessions and is scheduled to be sworn in Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Senate chambers.

Only Friday, Dannemeyer won a hard-fought battle for a seat on the House Budget Committee. Dannemeyer has long been a strident critic of government spending and has drawn both ridicule and support for his uncompromising stand in favor of a return to the gold standard.

Despite winning the committee seat, sources familiar with Dannemeyer said he is eager for a new challenge and believes that 1992 offers his best chance of getting out of the House.

In addition, the sources said, Dannemeyer relishes the thought of challenging Seymour on ideological grounds.

“This is meat-and-potatoes Dannemeyer stuff,” one source said, “kicking liberal butt in his own party.”