House GOP Veto of Dispute Repayment Sets Dornan Back

In a blow to Robert K. Dornan’s effort to return to Congress, the House Republican leadership has decided not to reimburse him or Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) for the cost of his challenge to her 1996 victory.

The decision hobbles Dornan’s campaign, which used $464,000 to fight the election result and now is almost out of money. He was counting on getting the funds back for his rematch against Sanchez in this fall’s election.

Sanchez, whose campaign has more than $1 million in the bank, would not have been able to use such a reimbursement in her reelection bid because the funds she spent to defend herself came from a noncampaign account.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said the GOP would seek other ways of funding Dornan’s effort to regain the congressional seat in central Orange County.

The decision to not reimburse comes in the wake of Dornan’s sharp criticism of Gingrich.

Observers said the speaker is bringing Dornan to heel for recent attacks that blamed Gingrich for deserting social conservatives and losing seats in the 1996 elections. Dornan last week also had threatened to boycott a GOP unity rally, featuring Gingrich, set for Monday evening at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

But Dornan said Wednesday that he would attend. He agreed that Gingrich is signaling that if Dornan behaves, the party will help fund his campaign.

In his election challenge, Dornan charged, among other things, that votes were cast by people who were not U.S. citizens when they registered. The House found that 748 improper votes were cast, not enough to overturn Sanchez’s winning 984-vote margin.

Dornan called the failure to cover the cost of his challenge “a bad precedent for the country.”

“It is telling the nation that someone can prove voter fraud and still get stuck with the bills because they set the bar of proof so high and wouldn’t call a special [election],” he said. “I am as shocked at this as at anything I have ever seen in my life in politics.”

Sanchez, who submitted $421,000 in legal bills, also was critical. Spokesman Lee Godown said the House had “vindicated” her win then decided not to make her whole. “In a court of law, she would be entitled to be reimbursed for her legal expenses,” he said. “Mr. Dornan was allowed to bring his frivolous charges--and now the House leadership has decided that she should pay for the privilege of being assaulted by him.”

In dismissing Dornan’s election challenge, the House gave Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, the authority to decide whether to reimburse costs.

Gingrich spokeswoman Christina Martin said the speaker told leaders at a meeting Tuesday that public funds would not be used to reimburse either Orange County politician.

“In the past, such reimbursements have not been made,” she said, echoing GOP leadership arguments that reimbursement would set a precedent.

But Democrats quickly shattered that rationale, pointing out that the House paid legal fees in contested elections in 1961 and 1986. They also distributed a statement made last year by Rep. Tom Campbell (R-San Jose) that Sanchez, as the prevailing party, should be repaid.

Thomas, surprised by the information, said instead that the reason for Tuesday’s decision was that repaying Dornan and Sanchez could encourage frivolous election challenges.

Dornan, meantime, pleaded poverty.

“My [donor] list is close to tapped out,” he said. “I do not foresee how in 104 days I can raise enough money to be competitive with $1 million in cash.”

Gingrich spokeswoman Martin said that “alternative methods of reimbursement may be identified and considered” for Dornan.

Republicans speculated that money could come from the Republican National Committee or the National Republican Congressional Committee, which also could assist him in fund-raising.

“If there is any possible way, we will take a look at it,” Martin said.

Dornan said, “I want to talk to Newt on Monday and say: ‘Newt, look into my eyes. What are we doing here? What is the battle plan here?’ ”

A prolific direct-mail fund-raiser, Dornan relies largely on checks sent by thousands of conservatives nationally. But he had just $64,307 in cash in mid-May despite having raised about $2 million in the past 18 months.

His campaign said it will continue to seek funds by direct mail, which costs the campaign 50 cents for every dollar raised, and will hold fund-raisers in the district.

Dornan still owes his lawyers about $80,000, while Sanchez has outstanding bills totaling $250,000. Sanchez raised funds to fight the contested election challenge separately from her campaign funds. No reporting of the fund-raising or disbursements for such accounts is required under federal law.

Times staff writer Jodi Wilgoren in Washington contributed to this report.