Seymour Won’t Endorse in State Race : Politics: The U.S. senator is ‘up to here’ getting on top of his new job. He says he doesn’t even know who’s running for the Anaheim district seat he held.

U.S. Sen. John Seymour (R-Calif.) said Monday he is not going to endorse any of the candidates in the tightly contested race to fill his former Anaheim state Senate seat, adding that he doesn’t even know who is running.

“I couldn’t even tell you who was in the race,” Seymour said as he toured an Irvine defense manufacturer Monday. “I’ve been up to here,” he said, holding a hand across his forehead and referring to the crash course in the operations of Washington that he has received since his surprise appointment to the Senate last month.

Seymour, who made a major issue of his support for abortion rights while in the Legislature, was also asked whether he would be concerned if an anti-abortion candidate succeeded him in Sacramento.

“I think the people have to be informed and let them decide what it will be,” he said.

Seymour reversed his position on abortion to favor a woman’s right to choose in 1989, just after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Webster decision. Then, throughout his campaign for lieutenant governor the following year, he emphasized how important each abortion-rights vote was in the Legislature.

The issue of abortion promises to play a role in the race to fill Seymour’s Senate seat since at least one of the Republican front-runners supports abortion rights while other leading candidates do not. The special state Senate election is scheduled for March 19.

Seymour began a week of touring California defense manufacturers Monday at the Kaiser Electroprecision plant in Irvine, maker of the engine housing for the now-famous Patriot missile. The Patriot has been highly successful in shooting down Iraqi Scud missiles fired at Israel and Saudi Arabia.

A scoreboard on the plant’s wall reads “Patriot 44, Scud 4.” Seymour examined one missile casing that was labeled with a sticker reading: “Scud Buster.”

In the company parking lot, Seymour told a crowd of the plant’s employees that they deserve thanks for their work on the missile.

“You should feel very proud of the contribution you are making to the war effort,” he said. “I guarantee our troops won’t forget you.”

Seymour is a former mayor of Anaheim and was the area’s state senator for eight years. He was appointed in January to the U.S. Senate to fill the remaining term of Gov. Pete Wilson. In his first weeks, he said, he has been under a crush of major issues including freezing temperatures last December that caused severe damage to California agriculture, the state’s drought and the Persian Gulf War.

“If you like challenges, I’ve got my plate full,” he said. “The Lord has blessed me with quite a bit.”