Packard Holds Incumbent’s Advantage in Race

After 16 years as the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) has the name recognition and a large campaign war chest that should help him win reelection in the 48th Congressional District.

In the June 2 primary, Packard, 67, faces Republican challengers James Luke, 46, a Temecula businessman who grew up in Orange, and Edward Mayerhofer, an Orange County businessman.

Finding a consensus on issues is difficult in such a large district as Packard’s. It has more than 329,500 voters and encompasses chunks of Riverside, San Diego and Orange counties. But to his advantage, Republicans outnumber Democrats by 2 to 1.

Winning the GOP primary is tantamount to winning the seat. No Democrat is challenging him and two minor party candidates have barely put a dent in Packard’s campaigns previously.

Running unopposed on their parties’ tickets are Libertarian Daniel L. Muhe, 45, a financial planner from Carlsbad who ran for Packard’s seat in 1988 and garnered 7,014 votes, and Sharon K. Miles, 52, a Dana Point businesswoman running on the Natural Law Party ticket. Miles ran against Packard in 1996 and picked up 7,158 votes.

Luke said he’s tired of hearing congressional leaders such as Packard tell voters how Congress intends to curb the growth of government, cut taxes and be more answerable to the district’s needs.

“Packard’s been there 16 years, and in 16 years, I haven’t seen my taxes come down. And crime isn’t high, but it’s not low,” Luke said. “People are telling me they’re tired of hearing from politicians who say the things they want to do but never do. I think both parties need a kick in the butt.”

To his critics, Packard said that government has grown smaller in the last two years.

As a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Packard said he has had a direct hand in negotiations on getting a balanced budget.

“We’ve cut back on big government programs,” he said. “We’ve almost balanced the budget and we’ve cut almost 400 programs [and] eliminated over 300 agencies.”

Packard also said he is in favor of scrapping the tax code for a new system that would eliminate the IRS.

Locally, Packard said he has addressed flood control issues in Temecula and highway bridges on Interstate 15 in Riverside County. He said he also helped cities and counties get funds for different projects.

But Luke said that Packard has “lost touch” with the voting public. Luke said he is stressing education, fighting crime and doing away with taxes and the IRS.

Mayerhofer could not be reached for comment.