San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Rep. Duncan Hunter’s Support Solid As a Rock (Provided the Rock Has an ‘R’ Ballot Designation)

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East County Republican voters aren’t buying into the legitimacy of the charges against Congressman Duncan Hunter, according to polling publicized by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Hunter has an eight-point lead over Ammar Campa-Najjar,  47% to 39% with 13% undecided. 

The local daily and 10News commissioned the Survey USA poll, which contacted 539 likely voters in the days immediately following news of the 48-page indictment. Hunter and his wife Margaret have pled not guilty, and his legal team is calling the charges a politically motivated witch hunt.

From the Union-Tribune:

The 50th district, which Hunter has represented since it was redistricted about five years ago, covers much of East San Diego County, including Poway, Ramona, Alpine, Borrego Springs and stretches up to Temecula.

Among Republicans, 77 percent said they were standing behind Hunter, with 72 percent saying the indictment either made no difference or actually increased their support for him.

Sixty four percent of Republicans said the charges against him are politically motivated and that they would vote for him even if he were to step down but his name appeared on the ballot.

In other words, they’d vote for a boulder if it had an “R” beside it on the ballot.

I can just imagine made up voter Chester Cheeto telling the pollers “Who among us hasn’t spent campaign funds on our mistresses? It’s a good thing I still have a land line so I could take your call.”

The likely voters included in this robo-polling did not include interviews by cell phone.

Younger voters, who tend to have cell-phone only numbers, support Camapa-Najjar by a three-point margin.

***

Opponent Campa-Najjar’s campaign sought to put a positive spin to the story, with Nick Singer, Director of Communications, saying:

“Duncan Hunter’s misuse of over $250,000 in campaign funds is detailed in a 47-page criminal indictment and House Speaker Paul Ryan has removed Hunter from his committee assignments in Congress. Hunter has thus far refused to take responsibility for his crimes and is instead throwing his wife under the bus. Polling has consistently found this to be a close and competitive race and we are gaining ground every day as voters learn more about Hunter’s corruption and egregious behavior.”

The Union-Tribune story did the Democratic candidate no favor by mentioning he was the grandson of Muhammed Yusuf al-Najjar, the head of the intelligence wing of the Palestinian political party Fatah, but not mentioning the fact Campa-Najjar never met the man, mostly because he died two decades prior to his birth.

The Los Angeles Times version of the story, which carried the same byline, omitted those sentences.

***

Progressive political action committees Indivisible Action, Flip the 14 and Code Blue have all announced they will be committing resources in support of Ammar Campa-Najjar.

Via Press Release:

“Duncan Hunter’s ethical lapses have been on our radar for a long time, and we thought CA50 was a good pick up opportunity, even though many considered it a long shot,” said Doug Linney, Campaign Manager for Flip the 14. “That’s why we’ve invested time, resources, and volunteer power in CA50 to turn out midterm skipping and newly registered voters who were likely to vote for a Democrat – if they voted. Hunter is the Washington swamp personified, and we plan on draining it this November…”

…Since Hunter’s indictment, PAC investment has surged. Flip the 14 and Code Blue have added CA50 to their CARMA program (California Resistance Midterm Alliance) by hiring a field organizer to launch a door-to-door canvassing operation in CA50. Indivisible Action is now supplying literature for canvassers to leave behind with voters. Indi Squared is leveraging its volunteer networks to support both canvassing and phone banking. These efforts reach beyond those of the Democratic Party, and the Campa-Najjar campaign, by drawing new funding and new energy to the race.

In Other News…

The money quote from the Wapo story:

Furthermore, according to a conspiracy theory network popular among some Trump boosters, when McCain supposedly died on Saturday, he did not succumb to cancer but took his own life to avoid being hauled off to Guantanamo Bay and put before a military tribunal for his longtime work helping Islamic State terrorists and others. (And before he died, he concealed his criminal ankle bracelet by wearing a medical boot on his leg.)

Unless, of course, the suicide, like the cancer, was just a ruse. In that case, McCain will continue to work secretly for the deep state and for the Clinton Foundation.

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Doug Porter

Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

Comments

  1. “We weaken our greatness … when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down; when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.” –John McCain

    I guess none of the republicans in the 50th read that or if they did, understood it.

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