Cox Surprises GOP, Rejects Campaign for U.S. Senate

Rep. Christopher Cox surprised state Republicans Thursday with an announcement that he will not be a U.S. Senate candidate next year, leaving a Santa Barbara millionaire as the only major GOP challenger to Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Cox had been exploring a Senate campaign since last April when he said he was encouraged to run by state Republican Party Chairman Tirso del Junco. In just the last few weeks, the Newport Beach Republican has also told supporters that he would announce his campaign soon.

But Cox faced a major opponent in Santa Barbara Rep. Michael Huffington, a moderate Republican who spent more than $5 million of his own money last year to win a seat in the House. In a statement Thursday, Cox said he fears the primary would be so costly and divisive that “it may be a Pyrrhic victory.”

“My great concern is that an exciting primary over a nine-month period would accomplish nothing more than delaying the campaign against Dianne Feinstein,” Cox said, adding that he will seek reelection to his House seat next year. “Tying both hands behind your back until June, 1994, lengthens your odds (of winning) unacceptably.”

State Republican officials said Thursday that Cox’s announcement means there is a strong chance that Huffington will win the Republican nomination next June with little competition.

In an interview Thursday, Huffington also said that he now expects a smooth primary that will allow him to focus his campaign on Feinstein rather than a GOP opponent.

“I’m looking forward to having a relatively clear shot at looking at her record,” he said. “It now seems even more possible that we can gain a Republican majority in the Senate next year because of the opportunity that we can have a unified party.”

Party leaders said Cox’s exit leaves a vacuum that might be filled by another candidate, particularly a conservative Republican. But they also said most of the major Republican prospects have already rejected the idea, and the chance for success would be slim for any candidate who is not well-known or does not have millions of dollars to spend.

“What happens now is that it looks like Huffington has a clear shot, pretty much,” said Ken Khachigian, a Republican political consultant who managed Bruce Herschensohn’s unsuccessful race against Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer last year. “Certainly a primary viewed without a lot of competition in it might bring in others; but I don’t know of any major players . . . who are interested.”

GOP Chairman del Junco agreed. “I haven’t really heard about anyone else,” he said.

One reason other Republicans are not interested in the race is that Feinstein is considered to be in good political health, and many GOP leaders believe it will be difficult to unseat her.

There are two other Republican candidates who have also said they will run in the Senate race next year--former Orange County Congressman William E. Dannemeyer and Riverside County businesswoman Kate Squires.

But most state Republican officials said they don’t expect either challenger can muster the resources necessary to compete with Huffington or Feinstein.

Huffington announced his plans to run for the Senate last month, less than a year after he won his first public office in a $5.4-million campaign that set a record for the most expensive House race in U.S. history.

Huffington, 46, is the son of a Texas oilman--Roy Huffington--who was a major GOP contributor and was appointed by President Bush to serve as ambassador to Austria. Michael Huffington has worked at banking and venture capital in the family business, and he started his own film company.

Cox is viewed as more conservative than Huffington. But the Orange County congressman had hoped that his campaign would include both wings of the party, and to underscore that consensus he enlisted the help of two former Republican Senate candidates--moderate Ed Zschau and conservative Bruce Herschensohn.

Cox also said, if he had his way, the Senate primary would be perceived as one between a rich, freshman Congressman and an experienced representative who once served in the Reagan White House. But in his statement Thursday, Cox said he feared that such a competition could be destructive to the Republican Party.

“We have seen in years past that some of our best opportunities for victory in statewide contests have been squandered because of our family disputes and rivalries,” Cox said. “. . . . In a year when Bill Clinton has united us as never before, it would be worse than a shame to waste that advantage. It would be a tragedy.”

Cox said he will seek a third term in Congress next year representing the 47th Congressional District. Several prominent Republicans had already been eyeing Cox’s seat, including Herschensohn.

Cox also declined to endorse Huffington’s campaign, but he said he will support the Republican nominee against Feinstein. He declined to comment on whether he thought Huffington is the most likely GOP nominee or whether any other Republican candidate might get into the race.

Since he will not be running for the Senate, Cox closed his statement Thursday by saying he would focus his energies on Orange County.

“Our communities’ opportunities are limitless, but our problems are serious and urgent,” he said. “I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and working harder than ever in Congress for Orange County, for California and for our country.”