Candidates Hope 3rd Time’s the Charm : Politics: Veteran campaigners Jim Salomon and Sang Korman are among the GOP contenders in the 24th Congressional District.

Awash in the check-overdraft scandal and perceived as inept and out of touch, the House of Representatives has hit new lows in public esteem.

Yet Republicans Jim Salomon and Sang Korman--the political equivalent of Eveready rabbits--keep running for Congress like their lives depended on it.

The two Calabasas businessmen, neither of whom has held elective office nor been involved in civic affairs in their community, are each on the ballot for a third consecutive time. Indeed, during the past five years, they have rarely been off the campaign treadmill.

Unlike many neophytes who dive into the election game, perhaps without realizing the odds against them, and then disappear from the scene, Salomon and Korman have refused to take the voters’ “no” for an answer.

They’ve got the political bug--some might say a full-blown case of Potomac fever--at a time when members of Congress are quitting in droves. The perennial candidates are now among legions of political hopefuls who aspire to cash in on public outrage and a desire for change.

This year, for the first time, Salomon and Korman are in the same district--the newly drawn 24th that stretches from parts of the southern and western San Fernando Valley to Malibu and up to Thousand Oaks in Ventura County. This may well be the only congressional race in the country with a pair of three-time, non-incumbent candidates.

Once again, both are underdogs. In a crowded GOP field of nine, conservative Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), the one candidate with a proven base of support, is favored in the June 2 primary. The winner will face eight-term Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) in November.

The district is considered moderately Republican, but the popular Beilenson has represented 55% of it for the past decade and is expected to make it a highly competitive contest.

Salomon, 36, has shelved his business as an international trade consultant to run. He has campaigned full-time since Labor Day and also did so for 10 months in 1990. And he moved from a Beverly Hills apartment to a Calabasas apartment--which doubles as his campaign headquarters--so he could compete in a district more favorable for Republicans.

“I am one of the jerks that’s been complaining for years,” Salomon said, recalling his original decision in 1988 to seek office. “Why water goes into the ocean” when it should be saved for future use. “Why 50% of our kids are illiterate. And I finally decided to put my money where my mouth is.”

Korman, 54, a Korean-American immigrant who made a fortune building shopping centers, says he wants to repay a country that has been so good to him and his family. He particularly aspires to contribute his knowledge of East Asian competitors and trading partners.

“When I came to this country, I had almost nothing. I had only my dream,” Korman earnestly told a woman in West Hills recently as he tried to persuade her to switch her registration from Democratic to Republican so that she could vote for him.

“But I invested my honesty, intelligence to make money. I’m very successful now. I receive so many benefits from this country. I want to pay it back.”

Korman is also eager to become a role model as the first Korean-American to serve in Congress, even though the 24th District has few Korean-American residents. He says he would only serve three terms at most--affording him precious little time to get anything done in an institution where seniority tends to rule.

Nonetheless, Korman has pursued his dream with near religious fervor--and an open wallet. He spent about $554,000 of his money on his first two races and says he’ll invest whatever it takes this time. He’s already lent himself another $130,000.

Some political observers say Korman and Salomon represent a particular breed of repeat candidate.

“A lot of people, when they run for political office, they get the bug,” said a campaign professional familiar with both men. “The symptoms are people who run in a bad district more than once. They ignore the realistic advice. Then, when they lose and all the advice turns out to be correct, they do it all again. . . .

“They become seduced by the personal attention to the candidate, which is often higher than they get at whatever else they do. There is a higher ego gratification--going and speaking before groups, having people ask their opinions on issues, seeing their names on signs, sending mailers out, meeting some of the donors they would not be able to meet otherwise, going to Republican events with the President.”

Not surprisingly, both candidates insist that this will be their breakthrough year. But, thus far, each has achieved limited success.

Salomon, who has tenaciously built multiple Rolodexes filled with the names of heavy-hitters by refusing to take no for an answer, has largely made his mark as a big-bucks fund-raiser.

In 1990, running in Beilenson’s present 23rd District, which includes much of the wealthy and heavily Jewish Westside, Salomon spent $362,284, nearly $160,000 more than Beilenson. He was one of the few challengers nationwide to outspend an incumbent.

But it got him little. After running unopposed in the Republican primary, he won 34% of the vote in the general election--2% less than the GOP registration and only 1% more than he won in 1988, when Beilenson all but ignored him.

Despite two unimpressive defeats, and the loss of wealthy Westside enclaves such as Beverly Hills and Bel-Air from the district, Salomon says he’s raised $150,000 and hopes for another $100,000 for the primary. He says none of the candidates are well-known to most voters.

Korman made progress two years ago when he captured nearly 32% of the vote in the Republican primary against Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) in a conservative district that included parts of the western San Fernando Valley and eastern Ventura County. Two years earlier, he spent $350,000--including $245,000 of his own money--and won less than 14%.

An indefatigable street campaigner, Korman estimates that he has knocked on 46,000 doors in the past five years. His wife and three sons are also heavily involved in his election drive.

The inroads made by Korman, however, were not unusual in a year when even incumbents who faced only token opposition saw their victory margins plummet. He raised little money from would-be constituents. And he is now in a district that includes only one-fifth of the district where he ran twice before.

In their stumping, both candidates have suffered embarrassments.

In 1990, The Times reported that Salomon was “a man living on the financial edge.” Salomon, who is divorced, had said in court papers during a child custody dispute that he inadvertently bounced a $600 child support check because he failed to reconcile bank statements and was unaware that he was over his credit limit.

Salomon said at the time that he had liquidated his assets and stretched his finances “to the limit.”

Today, Salomon estimates that he has given up $250,000 in potential income during his three campaigns. But he said he has built a financial cushion during the past year by putting together deals with the former Soviet Union.

During his second congressional bid, Korman was unable to name any members of President Bush’s Cabinet when challenged to do so by a local newspaper. He was able to do so recently, but still bristles when the episode is brought up.

Nevertheless, political observers say there are signs that Korman is learning--and making headway in the June 2 primary. Unlike 1988, when he raised eyebrows by hiring a Democratic consulting firm, he has put together a formidable Republican team, including respected Sacramento consultant Carlos Rodriguez, campaign manager Mark Thompson and pollster Arnie Steinberg.

“I see Korman with a very, very fine machine,” said a Republican official who has followed the campaign. He called Korman “a completely packaged product.”

And McClintock, 35, an anti-tax firebrand and outspoken critic of Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, said last week that he, too, views Korman as his major opponent for the nomination.

“He’s already spent close to $700,000 of his money in the past three elections and has publicly boasted that he will spend whatever his consultant asks,” McClintock said. “That’s why we consider him a significant rival even though he is not particularly creditable as a candidate.”

The other Republican candidates are lesser knowns or unknowns.

Korman says that, if he loses again, this is likely to be his last campaign.

Salomon, however, refuses to rule out another bid. They also differ on whether their multiple electoral efforts will have been worth it if they fail once again.

“Good experience,” Korman said as he went door-to-door in the West Valley on a recent overcast afternoon.

“It’s worth it. I tried. I sent out a message. What I learned in 1988 and ’90 is that, maybe if I’m not so serious, the incumbent might not work so hard,” he said.

Between stops pitching for money and votes, Salomon said he has “enjoyed a lot of it.”

But, if he loses, he added emphatically: “It will not have been worth it.”