Calif. Race Could Signal Partisan Shift
Democratic Front-Runner Hails From GOP District
By John Pomfret
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 10, 2006; Page A03
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Francine Busby is a Democratic candidate for Congress. But you could not tell her party affiliation by watching her TV ads.
Running in a special election to be held Tuesday to replace convicted felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Busby has played down her party affiliation to the point that it is almost her dark little secret. Yet in the race to replace the Republican war-hero-turned-corrupt-pol, Busby is giving the Democratic Party tantalizing hope that her race against what her party has dubbed "the culture of corruption" might just succeed. Busby leads the pack of 18 candidates (including 14 Republicans), garnering anywhere from 35 to 45 percent in polls.
Political analysts said the race for the 50th Congressional District could serve as a bellwether for races across the nation. If the self-proclaimed soccer mom wins the vote, it would be a significant upset in a district that combines the golf-crazy, socially liberal "beach Republicans" of the moneyed coast north of San Diego with the golf-crazy, "red meat" Republicans of the inland exurbs. Registration figures in the 50th District tilt largely Republican, 44 percent, with 30 percent Democrat and 21 percent undecided.
"If Busby wins, that would be the political equivalent of a tectonic shift," said Amy Walter, senior editor at the Washington-based Cook Political Report. "The next story you would hear is this is the first rumblings in what would be a major earthquake in November."...
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