Democrats aim for big House gains in California

By David Espo/Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- On his seventh trip of the year to California, House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, intent on restoring his party to power in the House, says simply, "We've got a lot going on out here."

For starters, there are the four Republican-held seats that rank high on the Democratic target list, in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and San Diego. Together, they represent half the total Democrats need to gain to assure the end of the Republican majority.

Then there's the estimated $6 million that Gephardt and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, chairman of the Democratic campaign committee, have raised in two dozen fund-raisers around the state. The money has helped Democrats here to an unusual cash advantage over Republicans, and some of it will be used to help candidates in other states.

Republicans, too, acknowledge the importance of the country's most populous state. Dan Mattoon, deputy chairman of the GOP campaign committee, says a recent California swing by GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain portend a better showing than in recent elections.

Still, says Virginia Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the committee, "With four vulnerable seats on election night, we'll hold our breath until California is done."

In a two-day trip through the state in advance of the Democratic National Convention, Gephardt, who will be speaker if Democrats win the House this fall, said the contests "tend to be local races."

But there's a common thread -- control of the House and the legislative agenda are at stake, he said over and over.

It's not clear how persuasive a party-line argument will be for some Californians, particularly the swing voters who hold the balance of power.

"What I like about (Rep. Brian) Bilbray is he does not always go the party line," said Bob Williams, a 73-year-old retiree who lives in the San Diego area. A McCain voter in the presidential primary in March, he attended a campaign event that Gephardt and Kennedy held with Bilbray's Democratic opponent, California Assemblywoman Susan Davis. He said he's undecided about the fall, but wants an independent-minded lawmaker representing him in Washington.

Republicans appear to have little opportunity for gain in California this fall, although they tout their chances against Rep. Cal Dooley in the Central Valley.

For the most part, it's the Democrats who are playing offense, laboring hard to make the most of their opportunities.

For the first time since Republicans took control of the House, all incumbent Democrats from the state decided to seek re-election this year, while the GOP must defend the Silicon Valley-area seat being given up Rep. Tom Campbell. Nationwide, GOP retirees total 26 compared with eight for Democrats.

Campbell's retirement coincided with an intense Democratic recruitment effort that reached into the White House.

Mike Honda, a genial 59-year-old Asian-American and state lawmaker, was a reluctant candidate, but Gephardt, Vice President Al Gore and -- eventually -- President Clinton appealed to him to jump into the race.

Honda received the call from Clinton at the registrar's office, ready to submit his papers. He promptly used the conversation to request a presidential fund-raiser. "When President Clinton called I knew we would have the support to make" the race, he said recently. Democratic hopes rose on March 7, when Honda won the party nomination and outpolled his GOP rival, Jim Cuneen, in the state's open primary.

South of the Silicon Valley, Democrats have already put their substantial campaign warchest to work on behalf of yet another prized recruit.

Former Rep. Jane Harman, too, was initially unwilling to run for the seat she gave up two years ago to make an unsuccessful run for governor. Gephardt twice met her and her husband over dinner, then agreed to return her to her spot on the House intelligence committee if she won.

To show the importance they place on her race, Democrats selected it as one of the first half-dozen seats in the country where they would run television commercials. The ads, which began airing on cable TV stations recently, criticize Rep. Steven Kuykendall for his votes against a Democratic plan to add prescription drug benefits to Medicare.

Ads are running in a nearby Los Angeles-area district, as well, as Democrats aim at Rep. Jim Rogan, who played a high-profile role during Clinton's impeachment trial and now is arguably the most vulnerable Republican lawmaker in the country.

Republicans in Washington snicker at the early advertising.

"The Democrats are wasting their money right now," argued Jim Wilkinson, a spokesman for the GOP campaign committee. "Our ad programs will come later in the year when voters are actually paying attention."

But there's ample evidence that Rogan, opposed by state Sen. Adam Schiff, doesn't see things that way.

His campaign had completed an early round of advertising when the Democrats struck. In an interview at the time, Rogan said of the GOP committee, "I assume they'll respond to protect me and expose Schiff's record."

They didn't, though, and now he's using his own campaign funds to air a new ad -- while Schiff's campaign is being supplemented by issues advertising financed by the Democrats.

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