Rep. Lowery Cites Banking Scandal, Pulls Out of Race : Politics: The six-term San Diego incumbent was running in a new district against another GOP congressman. He admitted writing overdrafts.

Rep. Bill Lowery, a six-term incumbent facing a tough reelection battle because of the double political whammy of redistricting and his involvement in the congressional check-writing scandal, abruptly withdrew from his Republican primary Tuesday.

Expressing disdain for the kind of “mud wrestling” campaign that advisers told him would be necessary to win in June, Lowery said his withdrawal stemmed from his realization that his race against freshman Rep. Randall (Duke) Cunningham and three other Republicans was unlikely to “rise above the noise level generated” by the House banking scandal.

“I am realistic enough to know that the constant drumbeat of attack . . . will continue,” Lowery, 44, told a news conference attended by about 100 supporters. “Politicians are taught to believe that the most important thing is being reelected. Not to me.”

Lowery’s decision transforms Cunningham into an overwhelming favorite in the new 51st Congressional District, a heavily Republican region in northern San Diego whose 54%-30% GOP voter registration edge lured both incumbents into a showdown that party leaders tried unsuccessfully to avert. Passing up an adjoining district with a much narrower 45%-39% GOP advantage, Lowery chose instead to take on Cunningham in the newly formed district.

Lowery’s seniority was seen initially as giving him a narrow edge. But the dynamics of the race altered dramatically last month when the former San Diego councilman admitted that he and his wife had written 300 bad checks totaling about $104,000 during a 39-month period.

Lowery contritely admitted to being “part of the problem” in Congress, but that admission did little to stem the resulting political damage.

“After the check thing broke, our polls really went in the tank,” said one Lowery confidant, explaining that Lowery’s own surveys showed him going “from a sure winner to an underdog.”

Although Lowery insisted Tuesday that he was “still within striking distance” of Cunningham, a popular former Navy fighter pilot, Cunningham said that his own recent polls put his lead at 20 percentage points and widening.

“I’m glad that we’re not going to be bumping heads right down to the final line,” said Cunningham, who shifted to the 51st District to avoid potential problems of his own in the heavily Democratic district that he won in a 1990 upset. “But I’m also thinking about how I’d feel if I had to do the same thing, so I don’t have a very good feeling about that part of it.”

Despite his withdrawal, Lowery’s name will remain on the June 2 ballot. He said he has no definite plans after he leaves Congress.