Rohrabacher Wins GOP Nomination for House Seat

Incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher appeared to have easily won the Republican primary in the 45th Congressional District, setting the stage for the ultraconservative former Reagan speech writer to return to the House of Representatives for a sixth term.

Rohrabacher appeared to have outpaced Charmayne Bohman, 61, a Cal State Dominguez Hills professor and former Westminster councilwoman, and Long K. Pham, 47, a nuclear engineer at Southern California Edison. The primary had been the most serious challenge to Rohrabacher since he moved to Huntington Beach from the Palos Verdes Peninsula after the 1992 redistricting.

Rohrabacher, singling out Bohman, said his opponent lost sight of the nature of the overwhelmingly Republican district.

“She spent all of her time trying to get Democrats to vote for her instead of Republicans,” Rohrabacher said, sipping bottled water as he greeted supporters at the Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach. “No wonder she lost. This is a Republican county, and she ought to realize that.”

Bohman could not be reached for comment.

Rohrabacher faces Democrat Patricia W. Neal in the fall election in the heavily Republican district. Neal, a 67-year-old real estate agent, appeared to win the Democratic primary handily over Lud Gerber, a retired 87-year-old lawyer who worked in the Truman administration.

“We’re doing great--the numbers look extremely good,” Neal said as she celebrated with supporters at the IBEW Local 441 union hall in Orange. “I think we’re the victors tonight, and we’re looking forward to November and taking on Rohrabacher and providing the leadership the district needs on certain issues.”

Neal faces an uphill battle. The 45th District has about 148,000 registered Republicans to 93,000 Democrats. It covers Huntington Beach south to Newport Beach, then inland to include Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Westminster and Stanton.

Elsewhere, the Democratic primary in the 39th Congressional District was too close to call between A.R. Groom, 50, a certified public accountant, and Charlie Ara, 67, a family counselor, for the right to face Republican incumbent Ed Royce of Fullerton. Royce was unopposed in the GOP primary.

Jack Dean, 50, a small-business owner from Fullerton, was unopposed on the Libertarian Party ticket.

Royce, a former tax manager and state senator, easily won his three prior elections in the district, in which Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 25,000 voters. The district stretches from Los Alamitos to La Habra, Placentia and a portion of Yorba Linda, and includes Cerritos and a small section of southeast Los Angeles County.

In the 47th Congressional District, no candidates faced direct opposition in the open primaries.

Republican incumbent Christopher Cox will face off in the fall against Democratic candidate Christina Avalos, a family counselor; Libertarian candidate Victor A. Wagner Jr., a software consultant; Natural Law Party candidate Paul Fisher, a nutrition consultant; and Reform Party candidate Raymond O. Mills, a taxi driver.

The district stretches from Newport Beach south to Laguna Beach, then inland through part of Irvine as far as Orange and Laguna Hills.

In the 48th Congressional District, Republican incumbent Ron Packard of Oceanside appeared to have coasted to victory over James Luke, 46, a Temecula businessman, and Edward Mayerhofer, an Orange County businessman.

Unopposed in the primaries were Libertarian candidate Daniel L. Muhe, a financial planner from Carlsbad, and Natural Law Party candidate Sharon K. Miles, 52, a Dana Point businesswoman.

Times staff writer Janet Wilson contributed to this report.