GOP bastions under threat from ‘blue wave’
HUNTINGTON BEACH: As the door slammed in his face, Josef Siroky understood that campaigning for a Democrat in the conservative California city of Huntington Beach was not going to be easy. But he kept knocking on doors, handing out pamphlets-and selling the idea of political change. Siroky is one of hundreds of volunteers canvassing the Golden State’s conservative bastions like Huntington Beach, which Democrats are hoping to conquer in the November 6 midterm elections en route to winning control of the House of Representatives-and possibly, Congress.
On a sunny Sunday in October, Siroky and the other volunteers are going door-todoor for Harley Rouda, a former Republican who is now running for office as a moderate Democrat in a tight race with a veteran Republican. “It’s great to see the blue wave right now,” Rouda shouted, earning applause from the squadron of volunteers. California is often at the forefront of the leftist resistance to President Donald Trump. But Orange County, south of Los Angeles and home to three million people, has for decades been solid red Republican.
Hillary Clinton’s 2016 victory over Trump in the mainly white, rich county by 100,000 votes motivated Democrats, offering them hope that they can turn the tables this year in the 14 House seats (out of 53) held by Republicans statewide. Democrats are running viable races in seven of those districts, including the 48th, home to Huntington Beach and represented for 30 years by Dana Rohrabacher, whose ties with Russia have become an issue in the campaign.
Rohrabacher also has come under fire for seemingly defending the idea of arming schoolchildren when he was duped by actor Sasha Baron Cohen for his Showtime comedy “Who Is America?” “We’ve seen so many Republicans, moderate Republicans here in the district... who are disappointed with the extremist views of their current representative,” Rouda said. “They want somebody who is more moderate.” The 56year-old Rouda, a real estate executive, says he thinks voters have grown weary of party politics as usual.
“I think people across America as well as here are getting tired about the question of whether it’s a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ next to your name. It’s about your character and about your values,” he said. This is the main thrust of Rouda’s campaign - de-emphasizing the party label. His volunteers are highlighting the fact that he was a Republican until 1997, that he is a businessman, and that he does not lean too far left. Basically, they tell voters he’s not blue or red but purple. “We don’t want to lie, but we need to know our audience,” said one campaign staffer who asked not to be named.
At full capacity
Siroky, a 22-year-old college graduate with a degree in political science, worked on one street in Huntington Beach with five other volunteers - all men, all his age. Here, the houses are huge and well maintained, and the lawns are pristine. The young Democrats have hard work on their hands. “It’s like playing the lottery,” says Siroky, whose father is of Czech descent and whose mother hails from Mexico.
After walking for five blocks, the team is not having much luck, with only two residents reached. At one home, a 74-year-old woman who is a registered Republican is the one who slammed the door on Siroky. At another, a much younger Asian woman who was not listed as having a party affiliation opened the door in her pajamas and listened to Siroky’s spiel. “Definitely you’re trying to convince people, but I think that I can show Republicans that Democrats have good ideas too,” he said. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs in the election, along with a third of Senate seats and governorships in 36 states.
In Orange County, Democrats are “energized, organized, and firing on all cylinders,” Rachel Potucek, the party’s local spokeswoman said. “Campaign events feel electric and unified. We feel like we’re making history.” Former president Barack Obama even stopped by last month for a campaign rally in Anaheim for Rouda and other candidates. “If these candidates win, I’m absolutely confident Washington will start working better,” said Obama, who has ramped up his political activity in the run-up to the midterms. The Republican Party’s office in Orange County did not respond to repeated requests for comment.