Huffington Rules Out Bid for His Old Seat in Congress

After a brief exploratory effort, former Rep. Mike Huffington (R-Santa Barbara) on Monday ruled out a comeback bid to reclaim his old congressional seat. He said he may instead pursue a statewide office in 1998.

Huffington said in an interview that he chose to step aside from the congressional contest because he felt Assemblyman Brooks Firestone (R-Los Olivos) would be the strongest candidate that Republicans could field.

Firestone, now a declared candidate for lieutenant governor, is expected to switch to the congressional race later this week. Huffington said he, in turn, would consider a run for lieutenant governor.

“It’s possible,” he said. “It could be some other race, too.”

“I’m not like a lot of wealthy people who enter politics as a one-time deal,” added Huffington, who spent close to $30 million--a record--in a failed 1994 bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “I’m not ruling out 1998. But at the moment, I’m not focused on it, either.”

Huffington was among a handful of GOP hopefuls eyeing a run for the 22nd Congressional District seat, which came open last week when freshman Democrat Walter Capps died of a heart attack. Services for Capps were held Monday at the Santa Barbara Mission.

Republican strategists expressed relief Monday at Huffington’s decision to step aside, citing polls that showed considerable lingering antagonism among his old constituents. Huffington served only a single term before giving up the Central Coast seat to wage his unsuccessful bid against Feinstein.

As part of a block-Huffington effort, more than half a dozen GOP luminaries--including House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former President Gerald R. Ford--prevailed upon Firestone to abandon his candidacy for lieutenant governor and switch to the congressional race.

To entice Firestone into the race, sources said, GOP leaders vowed to work to clear the field to give the assemblyman an uncontested run at the Democratic nominee. Capps’ widow, Lois, has emerged as the front-runner among Democrats, if she chooses to run.

Despite the discouraging words from fellow Republicans, Huffington said Monday he was convinced he could have won his old seat, had he run. Still, he said he was happy to stay in California, where he intends to pursue his political future, instead of returning to Washington.

Huffington said the only things he had ruled out in 1998 were an eleventh-hour run for the GOP gubernatorial nomination--which state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren has virtually wrapped up--and a repeat bid for U.S. Senate “because that would mean returning to Washington.”

The special election to fill Capps’ seat will be scheduled for December or January, with a runoff to follow if necessary.