Dennis Brown Withdraws From Assembly Primary

Former Assemblyman Dennis Brown announced Wednesday that he is dropping out of the Republican primary for the north-coastal 67th Assembly District, though his name will remain on the ballot.

Brown said “family considerations” prompted him to reassess whether he wanted to commute between Sacramento and his Los Alamitos home should he win the seat. Brown is single, but his parents live in Orange County.

In a letter sent to campaign supporters, Brown--who held an Assembly seat in Los Alamitos from 1978 to 1990--said he also worried that conservative primary voters would split their ballots between himself and businessman James Righeimer, while moderate Republicans coalesced around Huntington Beach City Councilman Tom Harman.

Republicans expect to keep the GOP-leaning seat being vacated in January by Assembly Minority Leader Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach), who must leave because of term limits.

Among the three GOP candidates, Brown had raised the most money--$233,000 through June, the last filing period--and was supported by Senate Minority Leader Ross Johnson (R-Irvine), for whom Brown works as chief of staff. But Johnson was criticized by some GOP insiders for handing Brown $75,000 instead of spending it in races more important for Republican gains statewide.

Brown could not be reached Wednesday for comment. But Righeimer praised Brown’s decision, calling him a “formidable opponent.”

“With Dennis Brown dropping out, conservatives don’t have a tough decision to make,” said Righeimer, who is endorsed by Baugh and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach). Righeimer is Rohrabacher’s longtime campaign chairman.

There are no other contested primaries for the seat in March. Other candidates include Libertarian Autumn Browne of Westminster and Democrat Andy Hilbert of La Palma.