8:00am | In what can no doubt be considered an intriguing endeavor, Congressional candidate Gary DeLong announced yesterday that he will visit 100 businesses over the course of 100 days.
His meetings with individual owners and workers lie in the hope that such encounters will help him “hear firsthand what I can do in Washington t support America’s small businesses.” The announcement was made following his endorsement from Orange County Supervisor Patricia Bates.
Some citizens have already criticized DeLong’s campaign choice of visiting these businesses, questioning if such a time-consuming campaign adventure might weaken his role as councilmember to the Third District in Long Beach.
Joining Mr. DeLong’s list of endorsements are former Governor George Deukmejian, Congressman Dan Lungren, Congressman Ed Royce, California State Board of Equalization Vice-Chair Michelle Steel, Los Angeles County Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe, Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, and Long Beach City Auditor Laura Doud.
February 1, 10:30am | State Senator Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach narrowly surpassed other fellow Long Beacher and c
The fundraising totals for the quarter are:
$166,329 Alan Lowenthal
$156,891 Gary DeLong
$61,593 Troy Edgar
$46,643 Steve Kuykendall
However, DeLong holds far more cash-on-hand than Lowenthal, with an impressive $456,349 compared to Lownethal’s $169,221. Edgar trails DeLong with $367,485, most of which Edgar had loaned himself. Kuykendall trails last with $37,659 in cash-on-hand.
The four are vying for the newly-drawn 47th Congressional District, which encompasses most of Long Beach and reaches east through Los Alamitos and Cypress to Garden Grove. In June of 2010, voters passed Proposition 14, which replaces the traditional bipartisan primaries in state and Congressional races. Regardless of party affiliation, the top two vote-getters will move on to the November general election, similar to a “top-two” rule enacted by the state of Washington.
However, the chance of two candidates from the same party getting on the November ballot is highly unlikely, as Democratic voters will almost guaranteed offer Lowenthal the nomination. Given this, Republican voters will choose between DeLong, Edgar, and Kuykendall — and this means these candidates will have to spend more money in order to bolster their campaign.