Dornan and Critic Exchange Angry Barbs at GOP Meeting

Rep. Robert K. Dornan and Republican critic William Dougherty faced off in a hotel lobby Monday night, with Dornan accusing Dougherty of being a “scummy coward.”

The shouting match between Dornan and Dougherty, a member of the Orange County Republican Central Committee, came during a break at a committee meeting at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel.

It was sparked by a campaign flier that quoted Dougherty calling Dornan a “war wimp” and urged voters to elect Democrat Loretta Sanchez, who holds a 665-vote lead over Dornan, with 1,000 ballots still uncounted.

The outburst reflected the political tensions that continue two weeks after election day in one of the most-watched congressional races in the nation.

Dornan supporters stood nearby in the lobby and applauded his comments, chanting “Go home, Bill” and “Traitor” as Dougherty left the hotel.

Dougherty, a retired Marine Corps colonel, supported both Sanchez and President Clinton, angering Republican loyalists who ousted him from the party’s central committee this fall.

He sued to win back his seat, and at a court hearing last week, party officials said he would be reinstated to fulfill his term, which expires in December.

In a letter in the pro-Sanchez flier, Dougherty lambasted the congressman’s military record and what he called Dornan’s criticism of Arizona Republican Sen. John S. McCain for supporting normalization of relations with Vietnam.

Dornan lashed back Monday, challenging whether Dougherty had really written the letter. Dougherty later told reporters he did write the letter and would do it again.

At the committee meeting, where party loyalists gave Dornan a standing ovation, he spoke of his years in office and his suspicions that voter fraud contributed to Sanchez’s lead.

Registrar Rosalyn Lever said that if all goes well, she will have a final tally in the 46th Congressional District race on Friday.

Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer Peter Warren.