Harman hopes to retake California congressional seat

By Jennifer Auther/CNN

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- During last week's Democratic National Convention, former California Rep. Jane Harman appeared confident she will retake take her old congressional seat in November.

Harman

The former three-term congresswoman gave up her seat two years ago for an unsuccessful gubernatorial bid, but remains a familiar face to voters in the 36th Congressional District south of Los Angeles.

Her opponent is Rep. Steve Kuykendall, a moderate Republican who served in the state assembly before beating out a crowded field to win the seat in 1998. He finished first among a field of eight Republicans and Democrats during the coastal district's open primary in March.

"I was very pleased when we got the primaries. When they stood up all eight candidates, we were the top candidate in the bunch," Kuykendall said recently.

But Harman came within less than three percentage points of Kuykendall in the primary race, despite the fact that she entered the race at the very last hour of the last filing day and spent no money on the contest.

If there's one thing Harman has plenty of, it's money. Harman, whose family has made a fortune manufacturing audio equipment, spent $16 million on her unsuccessful gubernatorial bid.

Why does she want her old seat back?

"So we can keep our prosperity going, and that won't happen if we have Tom DeLay and Dick Armey putting forth this endlessly ideological and partisan agenda," she said, referring to the two Texas Republicans who currently hold leadership positions in the House.

Harman is running from an area that is rapidly changing. Her district was severely impacted by defense and aerospace industry downsizing, leaving a vacuum that is now being filled mostly with e-commerce businesses.

Kuykendall

The area is regarded as a classic swing district. Independent-minded voters make up about 20 percent of the electorate. Some decline to state their party affiliations, while others register with third parties. The rest are Democrats and Republicans willing to vote for either side.

Kuykendall has received help on the campaign stump from Arizona Sen. John McCain, a popular GOP maverick, while mailers put out by his staff highlight issues where the freshmen incumbent is not in lockstep with the Republican majority.

"I see (GOP vice presidential candidate) Dick Cheney as being somewhat of a dicey factor in this race for Steve Kuykendall, and here's why: Dick Cheney presided over base closings," said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. Cheney served as Defense Secretary under President Bush from 1989-1993.

Kuykendall maintains that he doesn't always vote along party lines.

"I view myself, more as a pragmatist. More of an independent vote, quite frankly. I mean, I've still got an 'R' after my name, so I'm going to have votes when I'll have to defend my leadership, when they (Democrats) challenge the leadership of the House," Kuykendall said.

Those ties are one of the key reasons Democrats hope to keep Kuykendall firmly placed on their endangered list.