Dornan Plans to Run in Same District as Rohrabacher : Politics: Two Republicans covet new Orange County seat in proposed redistricting plan. Dornan says rival should yield to his seniority.

Setting up a possible showdown with a fellow Republican, Rep. Robert K. Dornan of Garden Grove said Sunday that he plans to run for reelection in a new Orange County district also spoken for by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

Dornan said he hopes Rohrabacher (R-Long Beach) will defer to his seniority in Washington and instead seek reelection in a newly drawn South Bay district. But Rohrabacher, who already represents part of the South Bay district, said last week he is committed to moving his residence into Orange County, even if it means a showdown with Dornan next June.

“He (Rohrabacher) has been there three (years), and I’ve been on the Hill 16 years,” Dornan said of their respective tenures in Congress. “We’ve got laws of physics at work here. A guy in his third year doesn’t say (no) to a 16-year member.”

Dornan said that by taking on the more senior Republican, Rohrabacher would be “voluntarily ending his congressional career.”

“I just don’t see him doing that,” Dornan said.

Rohrabacher said he talked at length with Dornan Sunday and the two agreed to meet in Washington this week to discuss alternatives to a primary. But Rohrabacher also stressed that he is committed to running in the proposed 45th District surrounding Huntington Beach, created under a new reapportionment plan.

“We are both friends and conservative allies and we want to do everything possible to make sure we are on the same side of every fight,” Rohrabacher said. “Every rational Republican hopes that a primary fight can be averted (but) I am absolutely committed; this is my district.

“He would certainly be a formidable opponent if that’s what he decided to do,” Rohrabacher added. “But I would also be a formidable opponent, and why should we waste Republican money fighting each other?”

The proposed 45th District divides Newport Beach and stretches north to the Los Angeles County line. It is solidly Republican and it includes portions of both Dornan’s and Rohrabacher’s current districts, although neither lawmaker lives in its boundaries.

The reapportionment maps for California congressional districts were released earlier this month by a group of special masters appointed by the state Supreme Court. The special masters are scheduled to hear testimony on the proposed maps and make a final decision late next month.

Many local officials had expected Dornan to run in the proposed 46th District, which includes Santa Ana, Anaheim and Garden Grove, where he lives. But the district is predominantly Democratic and about half of its population is Latino.

Dornan said his decision had nothing to do with being worried about reelection in the 46th District. In the last two elections, Dornan received 58.5% and 60% of the vote in a district that was only 46% Republican registration, he said.

According to Dornan, Rohrabacher would have “an absolutely safe Republican seat” if he agrees to run in the newly drawn 36th District representing the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. Rohrabacher should be “thrilled” to have a “safe Republican seat anchored in Palos Verdes where he was raised and went to high school,” Dornan said.

But since Rohrabacher’s announcement that he would run in Orange County, several other potential candidates, including Dornan’s former chief of staff, Brian Bennett, have indicated they will seek the 36th District seat.

“When you look at the 45th District, it’s really an extension of my district,” said Dornan, explaining his decision.

“Dana has fallen in love with Orange County with just a toehold in Orange County,” Dornan said. “But we can’t always have the girl we want.”