No chance for a GOP candidate?

Wednesday’s Daily Pilot included a quotation from a politician I never expected to see in this paper:

“The real fight is the general [election], and I’m very uncertain whether we can have enough funding from the [GOP] leadership and the party to match the Democratic nominee because at the end of the day, this is the No. 1 Democratic defense in the entire state,” Assemblyman Van Tran told said in a story, “Assemblyman quits Senate race,” detailing how he’s decided not to run for a state Senate seat. Instead, he plans to run for reelection to his Assembly seat, which includes Costa Mesa.

An Orange County Republican not get enough support from the GOP to defeat a Democrat? Is it possible?

It is, of course, possible ? even reality ? in the northern parts of the county, where Democrat Lou Correa is the area’s county supervisor and Loretta Sanchez remains both a member of the House of Representatives and a GOP political target (and a great way to raise donations).

It’s rare, though, when the more Democratic parts of Orange County leak into Newport-Mesa politics, and Tran’s race for the state Senate only did so obliquely ? the state Senate District he was targeting, the 34th, doesn’t include any parts of Newport-Mesa. Tran, in fact, would have fallen off the Newport-Mesa landscape had he won the seat.

For Costa Mesa, I don’t think Tran’s remaining in the Assembly will mean much change from what might have been. The two main GOP candidates who were talking about running to replace him, Garden Grove City Councilwoman Janet Nguyen and GOP activist Jim Righeimer, don’t have deep ties to the city.

That means, of course, that with Irvine’s Chuck DeVore representing Newport Beach and Irvine’s John Campbell in the U.S. House, the community still doesn’t have a homegrown politician in Sacramento or Washington. And neither of the big GOP candidates to fill Campbell’s state Senate seat, which represents Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, are from here either.

That’s also something I wouldn’t have expected to see here.

GET IN THE SWING

Here’s a nonpolitical aside: Next month there’s a nice opportunity to do some good while having a bit of fun.

The Mesa Verde Golf Classic is scheduled for April 3 at Mesa Verde Country Club. The tournament, of which the Daily Pilot is a sponsor, benefits Costa Mesa United, which formed originally to raise money for the construction of a stadium at Estancia High School and an Olympic-sized pool at Costa Mesa High School. Following last year’s passage of the $282-million school bond, Measure F, the group’s mission is changing, but it will still focus on youth sports.

The tournament, from what I’m hearing, is shaping up to be a fun, fun time.

The deadline is March 22, but there’s no reason to wait. The cost is $250 per golfer (you will be getting your money’s worth). To sign up, contact the Pilot. Your best bet is to e-mail the Pilot’s Ned Bondie at [email protected]. I think he’d be happy to hear from anyone who wants to donate an auction item or be a sponsor too.