April Primary Set for Bono Seat; Widow May Run

Gov. Pete Wilson on Friday set an April 7 primary to fill the congressional seat vacated by the death of Sonny Bono, with the late lawmaker’s widow, Mary, widely expected to enter the contest.

Republicans on both coasts said Friday that Mary Bono has talked with party strategists in recent days and is edging toward an announcement of her candidacy as early as next week.

In a brief interview Friday at the Republican National Committee meeting in Indian Wells, the 36-year-old Bono said she will spend the weekend conferring with family members before deciding whether to run for the vacant Riverside County seat.

Introducing her to a luncheon audience Friday at the GOP’s national meeting--being held, coincidentally, in the late congressman’s 44th District--party Chairman Jim Nicholson said, “All the other Republicans have stepped aside for her. . . . We hope she will run.”

If she enters the contest, Bono would be the early favorite to retain the seat in a district that has been loyally Republican throughout the 1990s. The district stretches from the eastern suburbs of Riverside across the desert to the Arizona border.

Mary Bono’s candidacy would create the unusual situation of two widows running at the same time in California to fill the remainder of their late husbands’ terms. In Santa Barbara, Democrat Lois Capps faces Republican Assemblyman Tom Bordonaro Jr. in a March 10 runoff to fill the seat of the late Rep. Walter Capps, who died in October.

Sonny Bono died Jan. 5 in a skiing accident at South Lake Tahoe. His widow, the former Mary Whitaker, has no political experience apart from campaigning alongside her husband and observing his term in Congress, which began in 1995.

Political analysts said Mary Bono would start with an advantage against any Democratic opponent because of the tragedy of her husband’s death.

“There’s always a halo effect around a widow in a race like this, and that makes it very difficult for any of the other players to position themselves,” said Charles Cook, publisher of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan political guide.

On the Democratic side, two potential candidates are considering the contest. One is actor Ralph Waite, better known as “Pa Walton” of the old TV series, who ran a strong campaign against Sonny Bono’s predecessor, former Republican Rep. Al McCandless, in 1990. The other is Mark Nichols, chief executive of the Cabazon band of Mission Indians.

If no candidate receives a majority in the primary, the top finishers in each party meet in a June 2 runoff.