Competitive House races in California draw national attention

The smattering of congressional races in California that are competitive this fall are figuring into the high-stakes fight between Republicans and Democrats for control of the House of Representatives for the next two years. Each party has identified at least a couple of districts considered ripe for the picking.

The hardest-fought contest, many state and national observers believe, is in Northern California, where veteran Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River) is facing an aggressive challenge from Sacramento-area physician Ami Bera.

Registration is nearly evenly split in the district, which stretches from the Nevada state line to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Both the Democrats and Republicans in charge of House elections are pouring resources into the contest. Retired industrial artist Jerry L. Leidecker of the American Independent Party, Libertarian and retired civil engineer Douglas Arthur Tuma and government researcher Mike Roskey of the Peace and Freedom Party are also on the ballot.

Also targeted by Republicans is the San Francisco Bay Area seat won from them in 2006, when wind engineer Jerry McNerney, a Democrat, defeated then-Rep. Richard W. Pombo. Now McNerney is being challenged by attorney David Harmer, son of John Harmer, a former state senator and lieutenant governor. David Harmer lost a special election in a nearby congressional district to John Garamendi (D-Walnut Creek) last year.

Both candidates have been running ads on local television. Nearly equal numbers of voters are registered as Democrats and Republicans in the district. Electrician David Christensen of the American Independent Party also is on the ballot.

In Southern California, three races are believed to be competitive, and there is at least one other with an energetic challenger still hoping for some help from his party’s national leaders.

In Orange County, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) is battling termed-out state Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Garden Grove) to keep the seat she first won in 1996. She drew national attention then by ousting firebrand conservative Robert K. Dornan to become the county’s only Democratic representative in the House.

Tran made history too — as the first Vietnamese American state legislator. He was first elected to the Assembly in 2004.

Sanchez set off a furor recently when she told a Spanish-language television interviewer that “the Vietnamese and the Republicans” were trying to take the seat away from Latinos, the largest ethnic group in the district. She said her remarks were taken out of context, but Tran seized on them, demanding an apology.

Since defeating Dornan by 984 votes, Sanchez has handily won reelection every two years. Facing her first serious challenge in 14 years, she says she is not taking victory for granted. Party leaders who have flocked to her side include former President Clinton.

Tran has drawn some national political stars on the Republican side, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He also has the backing of the Tea Party Express, the group that helped a Republican take the seat of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) in a special election earlier this year.

Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district, 47% to 31%, with nearly 19% of voters unaffiliated. Human services administrator Cecilia Iglesias is on the ballot as an independent.

In Riverside County, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs) is also is facing a strong challenge. Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, has been raising money and campaigning aggressively for months. And the National Republican Congressional Committee has included Bono Mack in its “Patriot” program to help House members believed to be vulnerable this fall.

Bono Mack has represented the district, which also includes Blythe, Indio and Palm Desert, among other locales, since 1998. She was elected then to fill the unexpired term of her husband, pop music star Sonny Bono, after his death in a skiing accident.

She is now married to Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-Fla.) She has highlighted Pougnet’s Democratic ties and has run a radio ad attacking the Obama administration’s record on such issues as its economic policies and its handling of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Pougnet, who is the gay father of twins with his pharmaceuticals-salesman spouse, has criticized Bono Mack for her support of Bush administration policies and for voting against a jobs bill while approving congressional pay raises. Like Lungren challenger Bera, Pougnet has been included in the congressional Democrats’ “Red to Blue” program, which provides financial and other support to “top Democratic campaigns” in contested districts across the country.

Republicans hold a 3% registration edge over Democrats in this district, which voted for Barack Obama for president in 2008 but two years earlier had gone for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over Democratic challenger Phil Angelides, 65% to 31%.

Businessman Bill Lussenheide of the American Independent Party is also on the ballot.

In a district that straddles Orange and Riverside counties, educator and school board member Bill Hedrick is repeating his 2008 challenge of Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) — so far without help from congressional Democrats.

Two years ago, Hedrick won 48% of the vote to Calvert’s 52%, the incumbent’s lowest reelection margin to date. That was the year the district narrowly chose Obama over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Calvert has been criticized for funneling federal money to projects near some of his real estate holdings. But he started raising money and campaigning early this time around, and Democrats have seemed reluctant to spend money against him.

Republicans in the district hold a 43% to 34% registration edge over Democrats.

jean.merl@latimes.com