Nail-Biter

The race for "the smartest man in Sacramento" John Campbell's traditionally conservative Congressional seat on the OC coast is two close to call -- and that's really bad news.

TOM HARMAN (REP)	34160	(38.8%)
DIANE HARKEY (REP)	33630	(38.2%)
LARRY CABALLERO (DEM)	20210	(23.0%)

Tom Harman is one of those depressingly un-endangered species, a green RINO, who's a big fan of regulation and is soft on social issues. Diane Harkey is my kind of Republican -- family values, fiscally conservative, tight on borders, no fan of taxes and all for the free market.

Is Harman's strong showing evidence that conservatism is crumbling on the OC coast? Hardly. It's open primaries. Many Dem activists were encouraging their cohorts to vote for Harman, forcing a Harman-Caballero run-off, and keeping Harkey out of the picture.

Unless there's a last minute swing, Harman's 530-vote margin will hold on, and I'll bet there were considerably more than 530 liberal Dems voting for him.

The good news is, it will make no difference. Sacramento is a Hell-hole of liberal Dem politics and policies, and one seat won't make much difference.

If you want to keep track of the final count, here's the link to the tally.

Tags: Primaries, Harman, Harkey, Orange County, Campbell