Winners, Losers Alike in Debt After Primary : Politics: Even successful contenders spent more than they took in. And some of the big spenders didn’t win their races.

Restaurant tabs in the hundreds of dollars. Outstanding loans in the thousands. A $4,000 phone bill long past due. And $26,000 owed to the printer for campaign flyers.

The June 2 primary election has long since passed and the campaign trails are cold, but according to financial statements, most Southeast-area candidates who ran in hotly contested state and federal races are now mired in debt.

The statements filed recently with the Los Angeles County registrar show that winning and losing candidates spent more than their contributors gave, in many cases borrowing from family and friends to keep the campaign going.

For many candidates, the gamble paid off. Norwalk City Councilwoman Grace M. Napolitano borrowed $100,000 from fellow Councilman Luigi A. Vernola and won her Democratic primary in the 58th Assembly District.

Attorney Martha Escutia lent her campaign $13,000 and ended up in debt but won the Democratic primary in the 50th Assembly District. In fact, the campaign disclosure statements show that with few exceptions, in the most competitive primary contests the candidates who spent the most won.

Not surprisingly, incumbents had the advantage in raising money. In the last days of the primary campaign, political action committees, big business and fellow politicians pumped thousands of dollars into their campaign treasuries.

According to the statements, in her successful state Senate bid, Assemblywoman Teresa P. Hughes (D-Los Angeles) collected slightly more than $157,000 from May 17 to June 30--nearly half of which came from fellow legislators.

State Sen. Ralph Dills’ committee gave Hughes $24,000 one week before the primary. The state Senate’s President pro tempore David Roberti (D-Hollywood) kicked in $10,000 and U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City) contributed $12,000.

Dills said he gave Hughes the money and asked other legislators to do the same because reapportionment had carved up Hughes’ Assembly district. The newly redrawn 25th Senate District includes communities Dills has long represented, and he said Hughes was best suited to take his place.

“I wanted whomever succeeded me to at least be a friend,” he said.

Hughes outspent her rival, Lynwood Councilman Paul H. Richards II, by more than 2 to 1 to win by 20,000 votes. As of June 30, Richards, who lent his campaign $26,000 and borrowed $67,000 from family and friends, was facing a debt of more than $100,000.

State Sen. Robert G. Beverly (R-Manhattan Beach), who started the campaign with $400,000 in his campaign account, also vastly outspent his closest rival, Long Beach businessman John Ward. Ward had hoped to outmaneuver the longtime legislator by relying on a small army of volunteers rather than a large bank account.

Beverly, on the other hand, received a stream of money from businesses and PACs. From May 17 to June 30, he raised $20,800--$20,150 of which came either from political action committees or businesses. By June 30, according to the statements, he had outspent Ward nearly 15 to 1.

“You know, my volunteers asked me what I was going to do about money, and I kept telling them we are going to do this without money,” Ward said. “I guess I’ve learned a lesson.”

But money wasn’t the magic ingredient in all Southeast races, and nowhere was that more evident than in the fiercely fought 55th Assembly District Democratic primary.

Reapportionment left two respected legislators--Richard E. Floyd (D-Carson) and Dave Elder (D-San Pedro)--in the same district. The largely black and Latino district also was coveted by Carson Councilwoman Juanita McDonald.

Floyd pulled out all the stops, spending $713,000 from Jan. 1 to June 30, more than any other candidate in a Southeast-area race. Most of Floyd’s largest contributions came from the gaming industry, including $50,000 from the Los Alamitos Racing Assn.; $22,500 from the Santa Anita Los Angeles Turf Club, and $10,000 from the California Commerce Club casino. State Sen. Dills’ committee also gave Floyd $15,000.

Floyd outspent Elder by 2 to 1 and both men spent more than McDonald, who borrowed $120,000 from herself and her husband to stay in the running. Yet, when the votes were counted, it was McDonald who emerged the victor, beating Floyd by 5,580 votes and Elder by 6,178.

All three are now in debt. Elder, whose campaign report shows that he owes no money, said that since June 30 about $40,000 in bills have come in.

Floyd estimated his debt, which was $215,000 in June, is now about $180,000. But said he would run his campaign the same way if he had it to do over. He said that about two weeks before the race, his polls showed that McDonald was leading and he solicited contributions in an effort to overtake her.

“I can’t say, ‘Gee, we screwed up,’ ” he said. “We tried to save what we had, and we couldn’t do it.”

McDonald said several lessons could be learned from her victory.

“One is that you cannot take voters for granted,” she said. “You cannot think that voters will buy into what you say just because you flash a large fortune.”

A similar scenario took place in the 37th Congressional District, in which Compton Unified School District Trustee Lynn Dymally outspent Compton Mayor Walter R. Tucker III but lost by about 1,000 votes.

Campaign statements show that Dymally was $167,000 in debt, but she said she has reduced that to about $20,000.

In the neighboring 38th Congressional District Republican primary, university professor Steve Horn raised more than $120,000 and took out two loans totaling $45,000 in his successful campaign. His closest challenger, former Assemblyman Dennis Brown, managed to raise more money--almost $157,000--but fell short of Horn’s spending.

Both men ended the race in debt. Horn said he owes more than $52,000, while Brown reports being $42,000 in the red.

“That sounds like a lot, but my $10,000 loan to myself will just be forgiven,” Brown said. “And I’ll end up paying off a percentage of some bills for political consultants. It’s understood, when a candidate doesn’t win, that some of his bills will just be forgiven.”

Community correspondent Emily Adams contributed to this story.

Campaign Coffers

Most of the candidates in the southeast area’s hottest primaries found that running for office is not cheap. Election winners are listed first. The totals represent the money raised and spent on campaigns from Jan. 1 to June 30 of this year.

50th Assembly District (Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Commerce, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, Vernon)

CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTIONS EXPENDITURES DEBT* Martha Escutia (D) $89,300 $110,603 $26,628 Pat Acosta (D) 51,060 46,797 26,011

55th Assembly District (Carson, Compton, part of Long Beach and Wilmington)

CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTIONS EXPENDITURES DEBT* Juanita McDonald (D) 72,265 165,923 120,000 Richard Floyd (D)** 649,086 713,379 215,663 Dave Elder (D)** 300,655 322,703 0

58th Assembly District (Norwalk, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte, Walnut)

CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTIONS EXPENDITURES DEBT* Grace Napolitano (D) 93,792 195,902 134,423 Armando Duron (D) 152,213 113,196 47,958

25th State Senate District (Lynwood, Paramount, parts of Compton, Hawthorne, Inglewood)

CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTIONS EXPENDITURES DEBT* Teresa Hughes (D)** 330,667 399,961 0 Paul H. Richards (D) 58,893 151,660 107,595

27th State Senate District (Bellflower, Downey, Cerritos, Artesia, Lakewood, Long Beach, Palos Verdes peninsula, San Pedro)

CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTIONS EXPENDITURES DEBT* Robert Beverly (R)** 89,910 317,896 0 John Ward (R) 22,813 21,350 0

37th Congressional District (Compton, Lynwood, Paramount, Carson, Wilmington, part of Watts, Long Beach)

CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTIONS EXPENDITURES DEBT* Walter R. Tucker (D) 125,214 123,446 2,500 Lynn Dymally (D) 202,685 290,978 167,934

38th Congressional District (Bellflower, Lakewood, Downey, Paramount, Long Beach, San Pedro)

CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTIONS EXPENDITURES DEBT* Steven Horn (R) 120,692 165,767 52,099 Dennis Brown (R) 156,917 149,581 42,000 Evan A. Braude (D) 92,555 121,740 25,000 Peter Mathews (D) 42,822 40,497 3,300

* Debts include loans and unpaid bills.

** Most incumbent candidates began the year with substantial war chests. Assemblyman Richard Floyd had $36,000 in his campaign account; Assemblyman Dave Elder, $21,000; Assemblywoman Teresa Hughes, $81,000, and state Sen. Bob Beverly, $405,000.

Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and the Federal Election Commission.