Dornan Filing Sets Stage for ’98 Sanchez Rematch

Former Rep. Robert K. Dornan has filed candidacy papers indicating he will run again in 1998 for the seat he lost to Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) in last year’s bitter election battle.

Though Dornan still is pressing his claim that Congress should erase his loss and declare the seat vacant because of voter fraud, the nine-term ex-congressman said he will run in the June primary.

Dornan had said repeatedly that he will run in a special election if Sanchez’s 984-vote victory is tossed out. It had been unclear, however, whether Dornan would decide to run again in the subsequent 1998 regular election. The former congressman had often talked about switching careers to speechmaking and doing radio talk shows.

Dornan, however, filed his candidacy declaration with the Federal Elections Commission on Oct. 8.

“I had no intention of being there in 1999 or 2000 until the 1996 election [loss],” he said, adding that he would reassess his decision to run in the June primary if Congress calls a special election before then.

Dornan’s announcement might influence the plans of three other Republicans who already have announced they want to run against Sanchez in 1998.

“This could force some of the candidates out of the race,” said Mark Thompson, an Orange County political consultant.

Dornan said he believes he could easily win any primary in the 46th Congressional District, which includes parts of Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Anaheim. At least one of his challengers, Superior Court Judge James P. Gray, said he’ll run regardless of what Dornan does.

“I am in this race for keeps,” Gray said. “Anyone who feels they have a contribution to make is welcome in this race. I am going to run a vigorous campaign and have some fun.”

Two other challengers said if Dornan runs, he would be reneging on pledges to them.

“As you know, I have talked to Bob Dornan on a regular basis,” attorney Lisa Hughes said. “He has assured me and told other people he wasn’t running in 1998. Until I hear from Bob Dornan that he is running, I don’t have a comment.”

Anaheim City Councilman Bob Zemel had said prior to getting in the race in September that he would not run against Dornan. Zemel announced his candidacy saying he was doing so because he had concluded that Dornan had bowed out of the 1998 primary.

Zemel said Tuesday that he did not know if he could beat Dornan. “The question is: Would I even try?” Zemel said. “I have to figure it out.”

A campaign spokesman for Sanchez welcomed the news. “This time, she doesn’t need a campaign manager, she needs an exorcist,” John Shallman said. “The only thing better than beating Bob Dornan once, is beating Bob Dornan twice.”

Dornan said the decision to run was in part forced by campaign fund-raising laws.

Federal rules require that Dornan have an active candidacy to continue raising contributions, said Kelly Huff, spokeswoman for Federal Elections Commission. The agency had sent Dornan a letter asking him to clarify an earlier filing in which he stated his committee was accepting contributions for a special election in 1997.

“How can you raise money for a ’97 election? There is none,” Huff said. “So we wrote him and said either you are raising money for ’98 or something is wrong with your report.”

But Dornan also was partially motivated to run after 111 GOP congressional members voted last month to exclude him from the House floor until the contested election claim is settled.

“It is a matter of honor,” Dornan said. “If they don’t want to suffer Bob Dornan as a self-appointed conscience of Congress now, then they better plan on having Bob Dornan being there with an attitude in 1999 and 2000.”