CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / GOVERNOR : Dannemeyer TV Ad Paints Rival Huffington as Liberal : Politics: Struggling GOP candidate for U.S. Senate aims his television campaign at conservatives, who play a big role in primaries.

Hoping to boost his struggling campaign for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, candidate William E. Dannemeyer began broadcasting a television commercial this week attacking his major opponent, Michael Huffington, as a liberal who cannot beat Dianne Feinstein.

Dannemeyer’s campaign is short on cash and he will not be able to compete on television at the same level as the other major statewide candidates this year, especially Huffington, a Santa Barbara congressman who has contributed more than $4 million of his personal fortune to the race.

Dannemeyer’s campaign declined to reveal how much it would pay for television ads, but officials said the candidate would use some of his own money and they promised to broadcast commercials throughout the state, including on network stations in Los Angeles.

Even with few commercials, Dannemeyer hopes to be effective by aiming his ads for conservative Republicans, who play a significant role in GOP primaries. To reach those voters, campaign officials said, the ads will air during conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh’s television program and on stations in GOP-rich areas such as San Diego and Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

One commercial says Huffington could not beat Feinstein, the Democratic incumbent, because the two are so politically similar that voters would have little reason to replace Feinstein.

The commercial complains about four votes Huffington cast in Congress, including his support for gays in the military, funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and President Clinton’s Family Leave Act.

“I am the opposite of congressman Huffington on these issues,” Dannemeyer says in the ad. “If we Republicans hope to defeat liberal Dianne Feinstein, we have to nominate a conservative alternative, not a liberal like Michael Huffington.”

Dannemeyer’s other two commercials highlight his recognition as a congressional tax-fighter in 1992 and his warning about erosion of the Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom.

Dannemeyer has struggled throughout the spring to gain credibility for his second consecutive Senate campaign. Most California Republican leaders believe Huffington will win the primary because they expect him to outspend his opponents by at least 10 to 1. Huffington has essentially ignored Dannemeyer, focusing instead on the general election against Feinstein.

Among conservatives, Dannemeyer also has been forced to share some support with Riverside attorney Kate Squires, a political newcomer.

On Thursday, Dannemeyer held a news conference in Sacramento to generate some interest in his effort. He facetiously declared that he will file a missing person’s report for Huffington, because he has not seen his opponent since the two appeared together in February.

He also called attention to the fact that Huffington only moved to California from Houston in 1991. Dannemeyer suggested that police searching for the missing candidate might check into luggage stores where Huffington might have gone to repair his carpetbag.

Huffington has rejected Dannemeyer’s call for debates in the primary.