Lungren Gains Steam at State GOP Session

As governor of California, Pete Wilson will be, by tradition, the titular head of the state Republican Party for another two years. But Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren reigned through the weekend’s GOP state convention as the true leader of the grass-roots activists who will shape the party’s future.

For several years, Lungren has positioned himself as the natural successor to Wilson as the GOP’s next gubernatorial standard-bearer. Since the GOP National Convention in San Diego in August, however, he has enjoyed a leap forward in stature within the party while Wilson’s image has become even more battered.

Lungren roused delegates at the closing session Sunday in Anaheim with a spirited defense of the GOP’s controversial “Contract With America” and the national ticket of Bob Dole and Jack Kemp, one of Lungren’s closest friends.

At the same time, Lungren got a major psychological boost for his 1998 campaign from the results of a private poll that showed him leading two potential Democratic opponents, Lt. Gov. Gray Davis and Controller Kathleen Connell.

And in a matchup with a third potential candidate, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Lungren trailed slightly but the margin was close enough to be considered a statistical dead heat, pollster Dick Dresner said.

“I’ve never been a front-runner before,” Lungren, 49, chuckled on hearing the news during a gathering of his campaign staff in an Anaheim hotel suite Saturday.

Most important, perhaps, is Lungren’s position vis-a-vis Feinstein, who many Democrats believe is their party’s best hope to reclaim the governorship for the first time in 14 years.

“It certainly shows that we’re competitive,” Lungren said to six aides in the room and two others, including Dresner, participating by telephone.

Feinstein’s own polling later this year is certain to influence her decision, expected in January, whether to enter a fourth costly statewide contest since 1990.

Lungren and his aides agreed during the hourlong strategy session that the attorney general will continue to toil as “a bridge builder” within the party’s two warring camps--the more moderate supporters of Wilson and anti-Wilson social conservatives.

Lungren also will be the Californian closest to the national ticket, even though Wilson retains the nominal title of California campaign chairman.

Lungren, a Long Beach native, has known Dole for many years, and he became one of Kemp’s closest friends when the two served in the House of Representatives together.

“No matter what happens, you come out of the year in a position of strength,” said Brian Lungren, Lungren’s younger brother and chief strategist.

In other words, even if Dole should lose.

Lungren’s advisors told him that he would go into 1997 with at least $2 million in the bank and with a 58-county campaign structure in place.

Dole’s struggles were a major concern among the 1,000 delegates and others attending the semiannual party conference Friday through Sunday.

Four years ago, then-President George Bush decided early in the campaign that he could not carry California over Bill Clinton and essentially abandoned the state. That strategy embittered California Republicans, who believed that it cost them heavily down the rest of the ballot.

Dole has vowed that will not happen in 1996.

Even so, delegates were unsettled by a Field poll released on the eve of the convention that indicated that Clinton was leading Dole by 22% in California. Republican leaders denounced the poll as inaccurate and urged delegates to ignore it.

But one ranking GOP official said privately that he is pessimistic about Dole’s chances in the state and is discouraged by the resignation last week of Dole media consultant Don Sipple, a Californian.

“Now there’s nobody back there who understands California,” the GOP insider said.

In his speech Sunday, however, Lungren told the delegates, in effect, to stop wringing their hands.

“I know what it’s like to start from behind,” Lungren said. “I don’t like it. But if that’s where you are, you don’t bemoan it. You don’t complain about it. You do something about it.”

Lungren is not naturally a passionate speaker, but his exhortation on behalf of Dole and Kemp made Wilson’s speech Saturday seem tepid and detached from the national ticket.

Lungren also did what even the Dole campaign does not: pointedly support the Republicans’ “Contract With America” and commend House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.

Lungren said the Republicans elected to Congress in 1994 “had the guts to keep the promises they made to the American people.”

In fact, Dresner’s poll indicated that Dole’s fortunes may not be so bleak. In that poll, he was trailing Clinton in California by 12 points, 44% to 32%, among 822 potential voters polled. Reform Party candidate Ross Perot had 9%.

Lungren aides invited a reporter to spend Saturday with Lungren--from a 7 a.m. convention breakfast to a party that lasted past midnight. The morning included the usually confidential campaign strategy session.

An aide said later that the team knew beforehand that Dresner’s poll report contained “good news,” but did not know what the figures were.

After Dresner’s report, Lungren cautioned aides about becoming overconfident about his gubernatorial prospects so early in the game.

“I don’t want to spend a lot of time worrying about who the Democrat [nominee] will be,” Lungren said.

But he said the new poll figures could be used to encourage potential contributors to support Lungren.

Both Wilson and Lungren are in their second four-year terms. They are the first two holders of statewide office to be barred from reelection by the term-limits initiative passed by voters in 1990.

Lungren heard reports on campaign organizing, fund-raising and other activities from staff members and consultants, including Rick Davis, Joanne Davis, Lyn Nofziger, Dave Puglia, Lee Stitzenberger and, by telephone from Sacramento, Steve Merksamer.

The core campaign group has worked together since the 1982 and 1986 campaigns of former Gov. George Deukmejian of Long Beach, a Lungren mentor.

One fund-raising gimmick is to hold a series of dinners commemorating Lungren’s 50th birthday on Sept. 22.

Political director Joanne Davis started her brief report by saying, “The 50th birthday parties . . . “

Lungren cut in and quipped, “. . . are making me old.”

Some Republicans have faulted Lungren for not being vigorous enough in raising money. Lungren reported $1.1 million cash on hand as of June 30, contrasted to $1.8 million for Davis.

Brian Lungren noted that Davis probably would spend most of his $1.8 million in a contested Democratic primary election in June 1998.

At this point, Lungren has no apparent opposition for the Republican nomination and could husband most of his war chest for the general election campaign.