New Chapter in a Tarnished Tale : Scandal fails to keep the GOP’s Baugh from election victory

The latest chapter in the ongoing story of the Republican ascendancy in the Assembly has incumbent Scott Baugh of Huntington Beach handily winning his primary race Tuesday in Orange County, just days after being indicted in connection with last November’s special election in his district. Baugh originally won his seat after Assemblywoman Doris Allen was recalled. Baugh, her replacement, later cast the vote that put Curt Pringle of Garden Grove over the top as Assembly speaker, and Baugh’s likely reelection as the 67th District assemblyman figures mightily in the overall tally in Sacramento. But this controversy is far from over.

The Allen recall was misguided from the start, and in recent weeks it has become clear that the associated replacement campaign that placed Baugh in the Assembly was underhanded. Two of Baugh’s political associates have been indicted in connection with a plan last year to put a decoy Democrat into his first race in an effort to siphon votes from his main Democratic opponent. And three GOP operatives pleaded guilty earlier.

Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi’s investigation has led to the bailiwicks of two ranking Orange County Republicans, Pringle himself and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), who is Baugh’s mentor. The two have distanced themselves from the shenanigans of staffers, and Rohrabacher says he in fact advised against the plan to manipulate the race.

Whatever happened, at the very least there were renegade staffers who should have been fired sooner. Questions remain about the larger roles of Pringle and Rohrabacher in the special election. For Pringle, this is the second political election scandal; the GOP earlier had to pay damages to Latinos after the party posted guards outside polling places in his old district.

As for the Baugh investigation, Capizzi is right to press ahead despite the barbs of Republican leaders across the state. Whatever the outcome of the case, the misrepresentations and allegations of outright lies that already have turned up stand as yet another invitation to regard politics with cynicism and skepticism.

It is also worth noting that Baugh won in a low turnout, so registered Republicans who stayed away from the polls on Tuesday should recognize the significance of not having voted. Also, the passage of Proposition 198, the initiative passed Tuesday that will establish open primaries, ought to encourage all registered voters to participate in those contests in which the primary is effectively the election.