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Costa, Quigley slug it out for Congress
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Race
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Contributor | User 13 |
Last Edited | User 13 Feb 26, 2004 01:56pm |
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Category | News |
News Date | Thursday, February 26, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
Description | Voters in four Valley congressional races head to the polls March 2, but only one district is guaranteed a fresh face on Capitol Hill.
Not surprisingly, that open 20th District seat is creating the most political friction. Experts say the Fresno-to-Bakersfield district likely will send a Democrat to Washington, based on voter registration -- one reason for the vitriolic campaign between Democratic contenders Jim Costa and Lisa Quigley.
Costa, 51, is a 24-year state legislator whose former Senate seat closely mirrors the geography of the 20th District. Quigley, 38, is the former chief-of-staff to retiring Rep. Cal Dooley, D-Fresno, and a tough campaigner who regularly picks apart Costa's record.
While conventional wisdom would consign the seat to a Democrat, Republican candidates Roy Ashburn, a state senator from Bakersfield, and Gino Martorana, a Kingsburg businessman, don't concede the race.
Ashburn, 49, believes the congressional district is losing its Democratic edge and is receptive to his candidacy -- especially since he could exercise clout in the Republican-dominated political establishment. Martorana, 56, netted 532 votes as a replacement candidate in California's gubernatorial recall and says he also has a legitimate agenda.
In the three other Valley congressional districts, incumbents George Radanovich, Devin Nunes and Dennis Cardoza have no opposition within their respective parties for the upcoming primary.
The biggest race is for the open seat in the 20th District, where Dooley is retiring at the end of 2004 after a 14-year hitch in Congress. So far, Costa and Quigley collectively report raising more than $1.1 million to compete for a job that pays $154,700 annually.
Both are spending heavily on commercials, mailers and other campaign materials in a district that is 63% Hispanic and 53% Democratic, according to the most current federal statistics.
Given the district's demographic profile and the hard-fought battle between Dooley |
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