Latinos in Congress Decry Dornan Ruling

Latino congressional Democrats on Thursday blasted a day-old decision to repay former Rep. Robert K. Dornan, a Republican, $320,526 for challenging his election defeat two years ago.

In a Capitol press conference, Rep. Esteban Torres (D-Pico Rivera) said Dornan, who lost the challenge, will use the money to continue a campaign that insults Latinos as he vies again for the seat this fall.

“His comportment as a political figure is abominable,” Torres said. “Having a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe in your backyard doesn’t qualify you as a friend of Hispanics.”

Rep. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said the decision to repay Dornan was one in a string of GOP slaps at Latinos, including a pending bill to cut funding for bilingual education.

The GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee approved the reimbursement Wednesday, and also repaid $252,536 to Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), who defeated Dornan two years ago by 984 votes.

The House ruled last year that there was evidence of voting by noncitizens, but not enough to overturn the outcome.

Dornan, who said he had only $4,500 left in his campaign coffers last month, can use the money for his struggling November rematch. But Sanchez, who had $1.1 million remaining, cannot, because her costs were paid from a non-campaign fund.