“Federally indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) failed to earn the endorsement of his local Republican Party on Monday despite representing San Diego County in the House for more than 10 years,” Roll Call reports.
Duncan Hunter Way Behind In California’s 50th
A new SurveyUSA poll in California’s 50th congressional district shows indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) facing an uphill climb to re-election, trailing three candidates.
Ammar Campa-Najjar (D), who narrowly lost to Hunter a year ago, leads with 31%, followed by Carl DeMaio (R) at 20%, Darrell Issa (R) at 16% and Hunter at 11%.
The top two finishers, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election next November.
Issa Eyes Return to House
Former Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) wants to make a comeback, and is eyeing a path that would put him head-on with embattled Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Politico reports.
“The California Republican has launched an exploratory committee, according to a website that recently touted his PAC but has since been updated to say that he’s pondering a run for the state’s 50th Congressional District given ‘a tremendous outpouring of encouragement from supporters inside the district, and around the state and across the Nation.'”
Darrell Issa Eyes Return to Congress
The Hill: “Issa, who left the House in early January after not seeking reelection, is carefully tracking the federal corruption case involving GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, whose San Diego-area district is adjacent to the one Issa used to represent.”
“Sources close to the former Oversight Committee chairman say he is considering a bid for California’s 50th Congressional District if Hunter resigns or decides not to seek reelection.”
Duncan Hunter Goes Full Anti-Muslim
The Atlantic: “Publicly disgraced, out of money, and facing both jail time and a suddenly-surging challenger—what was an indicted congressman to do?”
“Eventually, Hunter seemed to arrive at his answer: try to eke out a win by waging one of the most brazenly anti-Muslim smear campaigns in recent history.”
“In the final weeks of the election, Hunter has aired ominous ads warning that his Democratic opponent, Ammar Campa-Najjar, is ‘working to infiltrate Congress’ with the support of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has circulated campaign literature claiming the Democrat is a ‘national security threat’ who might reveal secret U.S. troop movements to enemies abroad if elected. While Hunter himself floats conspiracy theories from the stump about a wave of ‘radical Muslims’ running for office in America, his campaign is working overtime to cast Campa-Najjar as a nefarious figure reared and raised by terrorists.”
Indicted California Lawmaker Holds Solid Leads
A new Monmouth poll in California’s 50th congressional district finds indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) leading challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar, 49% to 41% among all potential voters.
“Hunter’s lead increases when applying two different likely voter models. A historical midterm model gives the incumbent a sizable 53% to 38% advantage over Campa-Najjar. A model that projects a possible turnout surge in the more competitive areas of the district still gives Hunter a healthy lead of 51% to 40%. All of these margins represent statistically significant leads.”
New Ad Features Fox Anchors Slamming Duncan Hunter
Ammar Campa-Najjar (D), who is running against indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), is running a new ad that exclusively uses clips from Fox News to attack Hunter, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Hunter Still Leads Despite Being Indicted
A new Survey USA poll in California’s 50th district finds Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) leading challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar (D) by eight points, 47% to 39%.
Hunter was indicted last week for misusing campaign funds.
Democrats Risk Disaster In Several California Districts
David Wasserman: “Democrats’ path to a majority depends on California more than any other state: they have excellent chances in seven GOP seats that Hillary Clinton carried in 2016, and a few more could be long shots in a wave. But in at least four districts, Democratic over-enthusiasm has produced crowded fields that could lock Democrats out of the fall race altogether.”
“Under California’s unorthodox ‘top two’ primary system — first implemented in 2012 — all candidates appear on the same June primary ballot and the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to a November runoff.”
“At the moment, Democrats face the greatest danger of a shutout in the 48th CD, where Rep. Dana Rohrabacher faces a credible challenge from former Orange County GOP chair Scott Baugh and three credible Democrats will be dividing their party’s vote. But it’s also possible Democrats could fail to make the fall ballot in the 39th and 49th CDs, where Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa are retiring, as well as tarnished Rep. Duncan Hunter’s 50th CD.”
