Darrell Issa has been in plenty of fights since entering politics, but he’s never had to battle for reelection. The Southern California Republican has rarely had a serious challenger in his eight terms in Congress and has never won less than 61 percent of the vote in a primary—until this June.
It was supposed to be easy. With his electoral history, his national profile, his vast fortune (first earned in car alarms, later in real estate), and a seat (the 49th Congressional District) with a decidedly Republican electorate, he would surely steamroll some unknown and underfunded Democrat. But in the June primary, Issa won by only five points.
In California primaries, the top two vote-getters move on to the general election, regardless of party. Issa earned 50.8 percent of the vote; the Democrat in the race, attorney and retired Marine colonel Doug Applegate, was close behind with 45.5 percent. The sharks have been circling Issa ever since.
As in many congressional races around the country, the Democrat has tied his Republican rival to Donald Trump. A recent ad knocked Issa for endorsing Trump, painting both men as fat cats with dubiously acquired personal fortunes.
The ad cites a 2011 story in the New York Times and alleges Issa used his influence as a congressman to “line his own pockets” and steer “millions in taxpayer money to help properties he owns.” Issa accuses Applegate of fabricating quotes that never appeared in the Times and has demanded the Democrat take down the ad and apologize or be hit with a libel suit.
Not that Issa is exactly playing by Marquess of Queensberry rules. His campaign has created a spoof website—coloneldougapplegateforcongress.com—advertising Applegate as “Another left-wing extremist California just can’t afford.”
Applegate seems to have largely weathered a story last month in Politico that reported he had been accused of “ ’stalking,’ harassing and threatening” his ex-wife. Applegate faced two restraining orders and had to surrender firearms in connection with the domestic violence allegations. (In a follow-up story, Applegate’s ex-wife came to his defense; Applegate said the allegations came during a “difficult divorce” and that he had not been found guilty of any wrongdoing.)
Democratic polling from early October suggests Applegate has edged ahead to a four-point lead. But internal partisan polling is always met with greater skepticism than independent polls and Issa’s camp rejects the latest survey entirely: “We dismiss polls leaked to media in memo form only, taken during unscientific times and with unobjective universes,” says Issa spokesman Jonathan Wilcox.
Despite Applegate’s strong performance so far, Issa is still considered the favorite. “I’m definitely watching the Issa race, but I’m just not convinced yet that he’ll lose,” says Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report. “It might be closer than any of his previous races, but until Democrats show they are willing to spend big money on the race, I’m not convinced that a candidate can show up out of nowhere to defeat the richest member of Congress.”
Issa has had a considerable fundraising advantage. Through the end of June, Issa had $3.8 million in cash and had spent more than $700,000. By contrast, Applegate had only $135,000 in cash and had spent a mere $50,000. That was before the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee started dumping ad money into the race. In September the DCCC elevated Applegate to prominent “red to blue” status, making his race a priority for the party. But if the money race does tighten, Issa is still the wealthiest member of the House—worth at least $254 million—and he’s not shy about spending it.
Issa is not known to spend a lot of time doing traditional campaigning. When he was the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, launching controversial, high-profile investigations into the Obama administration, media attention came easy. But this year Issa has been taking his case to voters personally. “He spent 42 straight days campaigning up and down the length of the coastal district,” says Wilcox. “I think it was in many ways some of the best campaigning we might have ever done.”
Still, Democrats say demographics in the region are changing and the 49th district isn’t nearly as Republican as it once was. And with Camp Pendleton in the district, it doesn’t hurt the Democrats to have a retired Marine officer running. But that doesn’t really explain why the party is going all-in with Applegate. Issa—having chaired prominent House investigations into Lois Lerner and the IRS, the ATF’s botched Operation Fast and Furious, and the rocky roll-out of HealthCare.gov, among many other things—has long been a hate-object for the left.
Few are the things that would make Democrats happier than to use this potentially catastrophic year for Republicans to bring down one of their most despised enemies.
Matthew Fleming is a reporter for CalWatchdog in Sacramento.
