Harkey sets the pace in Senate race

As Harman bides his time, the Dana Point councilwoman is off to a running start in the state campaign.With roughly three months to go before the special primary, the two Republican candidates for the 35th state Senate district seat still have plenty of time at their disposal.

But while Dana Point City Councilwoman Diane Harkey has been showing her face at various city council meetings and racking up big-name endorsements, Huntington Beach Assemblyman Tom Harman’s campaign seems to be missing in action.

The Senate seat represents Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and all or part of 13 other Orange County cities. Candidates have until Feb. 27 to file for the ballot, and all who qualify will face off in an April 11 primary.

Reached at his campaign office, Harman said he’s been working behind the scene on raising money and getting endorsements. He expects the campaign to heat up in another three to four weeks.

“Right now I’d say it’s kind of the lull before the storm,” Harman said.

“I think voters are not focused on it [the Senate race] right now. Everybody’s talking about the governor’s budget and his infrastructure plan and things like that.”

Harman’s silence could be a shrewd strategy for success. As an incumbent officeholder with a big advantage over Harkey in name recognition, Harman has no reason to start spending money yet, theorized UC Irvine political scientist Mark Petracca, who taught Harkey when she attended UCI.

While the endorsement page of his campaign website still reads, “coming soon,” Harman said he has gotten support from elected officials including Huntington Beach Mayor Dave Sullivan, Riverside County Sen. Jim Battin and Orange County Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher.

In the meantime, Harkey is building up quite a head of steam -- her first mailer went to voters last week, and last week she announced an endorsement from Huntington Beach Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. That was added to a list that includes Rep. John Campbell, who held the Senate seat last, the Lincoln Club of Orange County and Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

She attributed her solid Republican backing to a history of involvement in local campaigns.

“Politics is a very close-knit community, so people seem to know people, and if you’ve been active at all, the word gets out,” she said.

As for Harkey’s endorsements from Orange County officials, Harman said he’s “not surprised and not concerned. There’s a group of, you know, what I call the entrenched establishment that are probably going to endorse her.”

To Petracca, it’s a given that GOP bigwigs won’t endorse Harman, who beat out the establishment choice in a 2000 open primary for an assembly seat; some attribute his victory to non-Republican votes.

“The more interesting question is why these people would all get behind someone whose political credentials are so thin,” Petracca said, referring to Harkey, who has been in office about a year.

While Harman’s name may be recognized by more voters on election day, some believe other factors can trump that.

Harkey has committed a big chunk of change to the race, and her endorsements send a signal to donors and Republican activists, Newport Beach political consultant Dave Ellis said.

Her momentum will make things difficult for Harman, Ellis said -- or, to put it another way, “he’s the salmon trying to get over the dam.”20060119ioxx55kn(LA)Dianne Harkey