What’s in a Name? Not Enough for Bacas

Political legacies Joe Baca Jr. and Jeremy Baca appeared to have it all in their quest for seats in the Legislature: hefty war chests and a last name as good as gold in Inland Empire politics.

But the sons of Democratic stalwart Rep. Joe Baca of Rialto came up short Tuesday in what mattered most -- votes.

Assembly candidate Jeremy Baca and state Senate candidate Baca junior both lost by double-digit percentage margins in the Democratic primary, despite personally outspending their opponents and tapping into the might of their father’s political machine.

“It’s like being the favorite in a prize fight,” Jeremy Baca reasoned from the brothers’ shared campaign office in San Bernardino, which he was cleaning out Wednesday. “You’ve still got to do battle in the ring, and you never know what punches will get thrown.”

His father served in the Legislature from 1993 to 1999, then won a congressional seat representing Fontana, Rialto, Ontario and San Bernardino.

Along the way, he emerged as a power player in San Bernardino County’s rowdy political scene, mentoring so-called Baca Democrats, considered moderate compared with their Democratic brethren.

Baca and his sons have long talked about building a political dynasty, but their attempts have stirred ire, even in Washington. In March, six members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus withdrew their connection to its political action committee, which Baca senior chairs, because that committee had contributed to the campaigns of members’ relatives, including the Baca brothers.

“The attempt to create a dynasty just fizzled,” said Allan Hoffenblum, who publishes the nonpartisan California Target Book, which analyzes state and federal races.

“Maybe voters thought, ‘We like Joe senior well enough, but three of them?’ ” said Shaun Bowler, a UC Riverside political scientist.

San Bernardino County’s Republican leaders, who have aggressively courted voters in the rapidly growing region, jumped on the results as a sign that the Baca empire was crumbling.

“This is a shot across the bow that even Democrats aren’t happy with the leadership the Bacas were displaying,” said Adam Aleman, executive director of the county Republican Party.

Democratic Party officials dismissed the suggestion, saying the double-Baca loss was not a reflection on the family patriarch.

“If I was buying stock, I’d buy ‘Working Joe Baca’ stock,” said county party Chairman Mark Shepherd. “He wins elections in Riverside and San Bernardino counties where every other Democrat who stands up gets beat.”

Baca Jr., 36, was in for a bruising fight, even though the state Senate district he coveted overlaps the Assembly district he represented for a single term.

To win that seat in 2004, he beat back accusations from primary opponent David Roa Pruitt that his father had corralled contributions from Washington lobbyists.

“My father isn’t a powerful congressman,” a Pruitt mailer said. “He is a grocery clerk.” Baca won by a 31-point margin.

This time, Baca’s challenger was Gloria Negrete McLeod, a three-term assemblywoman who represents Chino and Ontario, which the Senate district includes. She said she started meeting with constituents in the San Bernardino area years before she was termed-out, in part to combat the Bacas’ name recognition.

McLeod spent slightly less than Baca’s half-million dollars, but had more cash on hand during the crucial final weeks. Her supporters also matched Baca in a mailer war that escalated the campaign’s nastiness.

“It wasn’t a Baca race. It became a race between two opponents,” said McLeod, who won the endorsement of the state Democratic Party.

On Tuesday night, Baca nursed a 23-point drubbing.

“They found themselves up against people who were arguably more qualified than they are,” Hoffenblum said. “Jeremy’s sole qualification appeared to be that he was the son of a congressman.”

Still, Jeremy Baca, 33, was expected to slide into the seat that represents Rialto and Colton, the district his older brother had represented the past two years.

The younger Baca brother also spent more than $300,000 -- four times as much as eventual victor Wilmer Amina Carter, a former trustee at the Rialto Unified School District, which named a high school after her.

“I had name recognition too, but my name is tied to accomplishments,” said Carter, a former district director for the late Rep. George Brown.

Jeremy Baca’s campaign was stung by revelations late in the race that he was attending court-ordered alcohol treatment classes after pleading guilty in February to driving under the influence.

He said the conviction might have contributed to Carter’s 15-point rout.

She will face GOP candidate Marge Mendoza-Ware, who failed in her last bid in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 26,000.

Jeremy Baca, calling the defeat a learning experience, said he would consider another stab at public office, with this in mind: His dad botched his first attempt at an Assembly seat.