Don Wagner would probaby rather have his son Paul back, than be the winner in the 70th Assembly District. Paul died last week in a tragic incident involving prescription medicine. Paul’s sister told the O.C. Register that he had an enlarged heart.
Did Wagner’s tragedy help him win with the so-called “sympathy vote?” I am sure that did factor in the final results, but we should not overlook the fact that Wagner’s campaign was run by Scott Voigts, a CRA activist who is passionate about his brand of religious conservative Republicanism. Voigts got the grassroots out for Wagner. My guess is that Voigts worked the churches – something no other candidate did.
Wagner’s victory also underscores how lame Jerry Amante was. Amante had the support of the elitist OC GOP machine but he had no grassroots support. He is now done in politics, IMHO. Good. Amante, who is a lobbyist and all-around scumbag, needs to go away now.
I was the only blogger around who thought Steven Choi could win, and he almost did. He only lost by about 800 votes. Despite the split of the nutter vote by Wagner and Amante, Choi could not win, but he has nothing to hang his head about. He worked hard and almost pulled it off. Some Republicans may have not voted for him in order to keep him on the Irvine City Council, where he is still needed to fight against the Agranista machine.
Choi is a class act and I know he will support Wagner who now will face Democrat Melissa Fox. She is a doctrinaire liberal who wants to raise taxes. And she is mired in the Agranista machine. No bueno! She will lose big in November.
I am not happy Wagner won, but I am very happy that Amante lost. I will back Libertarian Debbie Tharp in November.
Art,
I already pilloried [you] for playing the “Don is winning because his son died” card. But I will say that I am glad you actually gave credit to Don and Scott – it shows a level of maturity usually lacking from the losing side, and I almost feel bad for gloating on a separate post – almost. I don’t have anything against Steve, but Don is a stronger conservative and a stronger voice that hopefully can stand his ground against the wackos in Sacramento. We both agree that Vern’s beloved Melissa is going down big time in November. CONGRATULATIONS DON!
Newbie,
I do agree with you that Don will utterly destroy Fox in November. The victory is in the bag!
Art… Now there is this issue of the $5 You owe me! Wagner Wins!!!! Don’t worry I will spend it in Arizona!
Bigmarkod,
LOL! You called it. Maybe you can contribute it to my legal defense fund?
Amante is even worse than that, he somehow got ( or should I say Bought) the NRA endorsement…and still lost
Bigmarkod,
Amante is disgusting. Good riddance! Last nail in the coffin for the OC GOP machine?
*Don is a real guy. Refreshing to say the least. His tragedy aside, he was our choice
from the beginning. Chuck was great, Don will follow suit. He now needs to start/stop
campaigning and reach out to others during his trying time….to see that others need
his help – as much as he needs theirs! The Assembly needs his leadership skills – maybe
even a coalition of intelligent conservative bi-partisan efficiency experts! Pro-gun of
course!
The big loser here is Dave Gilliard, Amante’s consultant, who made the unforgivable mistake, once again, of attacking a perceived front-runner in a three way race.
Amante attacked Choi, damaging both himself and Choi,
Choi attacked Amante, damaging both Amante and himself.
Wagner came out ahead.
The effects of the hit mail showed up dramatically in the difference between the VBM returns, and the poll voter returns.
With all the endorsements and early VBM mail, this was Amante’s race to lose, and he lost it.
Three cheers for the grass roots and Scott V. for his leadership against a massive war chest.
Quimby,
I don’t know that the last-minute mailers had that big an impact. Many voters had already voted.
Wagner went after the tea party and religious vote.
Amante, as I predicted, was also hurt by his small base in Tustin.
In a low-turnout election, the hard-right prevailed against the machine guy Amante and the more reasonable Choi.
And I do think Wagner was helped by the sympathy vote. It surely moved more than a few undecided voters into his camp.
I wish Choi had won but am glad that Amante is finished!
Congratulations to Don, and again condolences for his loss. I’m sorry too that Newbie mistakenly attributed Art’s opinions/observations to me.
The political, ideological differences between Don and Melissa are night and day, and we look forward to a good debate between two clear choices.
Vern,
I did not write anything that I need to apologize for. I do think Don benefited from sympathy votes but I think, as I have written elsewhere, that his campaign manager did a great job targeting conservatives and tea partiers.
Choi would have been a good legislator but at least we took out the dreadful Amante!
It’s just not something I really think or would have said, and Newbie somehow got confused and attributed your words to me. I was planning to not mention Don’s son during the upcoming campaign.
I would be happy to contribute the $5 Art, but I would hate to run for office and have a Steve Poizner / Al Gore contribution issue!
Vern,
I agree that mentioning Paul in November would be callous. And I doubt that Don will try to campaign by bringing him up, unlike Beth Krom who did exactly that.
That said, I stll think Wagner did benefit from sympathy votes. By November however there will no longer be any such votes. Instead, Don will win because Fox is campaigning on a loser platform of raising taxes. She is toast.
I’m also thrilled Jerry lost. He is a terrible human being and as a Registered Republican I would have voted Democrat just to see him lose.