Senate Candidate Bennett Pulls Out and Backs Rival

Brian O. Bennett, a former congressional aide who had gained the support of several major Republican leaders in his bid for a state Senate seat in an upcoming special election, said Wednesday that he is dropping out of the race in order to unify conservatives behind a wealthy Garden Grove businessman.

The announcement leaves Robert Hurtt, one of the state’s largest Republican contributors, as the only prominent candidate in a race with a diminishing field of viable rivals.

Bennett is the latest of several potential candidates to have considered the race and bowed out. Assemblymen Ross Johnson (R-Anaheim) and Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) had previously pulled out of the running.

Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young is the only other well-known potential candidate said to be considering the race. And being well-known or well-financed is crucial in this race, since the election is less than two months away.

“It is more important than ever that conservatives remain united,” Bennett said in a written statement that endorsed Hurtt. “A primary race between us could prove divisive and make difficult the desire to keep this seat in the conservative Republican column.”

Bennett also said money was a decisive factor in his announcement. Hurtt could spend whatever he needs from his own pocket, while Bennett said it would be hard for him to raise funds because of the shortened campaign and the presence of another conservative candidate in the race.

“If he were not a millionaire, then I think he would have gotten out of the race,” Bennett said in an interview. “ . . I am not an idiot who has never run a campaign. He has that financial edge.”

Earlier this week, Gov. Pete Wilson scheduled the special March 2 election in Orange County to fill the seat left vacant by state Sen. Ed Royce’s election to Congress last November.

The 32nd Senate District--which has slightly more Republicans than Democrats among registered voters--includes the cities of Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Fullerton. In addition to Hurtt, two other candidates have announced their campaigns--Democrat Ken Le-Blanc, owner of an auto parts sales company in Huntington Beach, and Libertarian Richard Newhouse of Garden Grove.

But it was quite a surprise to Orange County political observers that a vacant state Senate seat would have only one major candidate two months before the election. It especially raised eyebrows when that candidate is Hurtt, a largely unknown Republican who has done all of his previous political work behind the scenes.

His influence, however, would have made Bennett’s job tough. Hurtt, owner of Container Supply Co. in Garden Grove, gave more than $500,000 to Republican candidates and causes last year--some of it to candidates who endorsed Bennett before they knew Hurtt was interested in the race.

Hurtt, 48, was linked to California organizations identified with the religious right last year because much of his political money was given to candidates backed by conservative Christian leaders. But Hurtt said Wednesday that while he agrees with some of the religious right’s issues, his purpose in becoming involved in politics is to foster a better environment for businesses.

The spin among political observers on a possible contest between Hurtt and Mayor Young, a former Democrat, is that it would be a showdown between a Republican conservative and a moderate.

But Young insisted Wednesday that he should be considered a conservative as well because he has been allied with many of Orange County’s elected officials from the party’s right wing. Young declined to state his position on abortion, an issue that has played a major role in the institutional support given to Orange County candidates by moderate or conservative organizations.

“I am the only candidate who has any name identification going in,” Young said. “My decision will not be based on who is in or who is out; it is based on what is best for me and my family and for the city” of Santa Ana.

Eileen Padberg, a leader among moderate Orange County Republicans, Wednesday vowed that a GOP candidate will be found to challenge Hurtt.

“We don’t need another person who is going to fall on the sword of ideology instead of getting something done,” she said. “I think Hurtt is a religious fanatic (with his) own agenda, which doesn’t include healing the Republican Party. I think it would be terrible” if Hurtt won.

But in recent special elections, where turnout is traditionally low, conservative Republicans have repeatedly proven themselves to have the most loyal voters and to run the most successful campaigns.

Hurtt could claim support Wednesday from most of Orange County’s elected Republican leaders. And with the prospect of a united right wing, several of those leaders made unsolicited calls to The Times to express their enthusiasm.

“I would say Rob would be a very strong favorite right now,” said state Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange). “Knowing the people who have endorsed him in the last few days, I’m hard pressed to think he would lose a Republican primary; and the seat is strongly Republican.”

County Republican Party Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes, whose policy has been to remain publicly neutral in contested races, said Wednesday that Hurtt is an “overwhelming favorite” to win the seat.

“He’s obviously the conservative candidate, and it is the conservative candidate who always wins the primary elections in the Republican Party,” Fuentes said. “So the momentum is with him.”