Throwing his name in the race
Write-in candidate seeks SCV congressional seat ahead of Tuesday’s primary
You won’t find his name on the ballot Tuesday. He hasn’t been stuffing your mail box with endless mailers. Politics-watcher or not, you may not have ever heard of him.
But Santa Clarita resident Jeff Bomberger has launched a writein campaign for the 25th Congressional District seat, saying he’s determined to spread the message to “get corruption out of government,” and he wants your vote.
“It really is to me the most democratic part of the entire process,” the 30-year-old personal trainer said of his write-in campaign. “Any vote I get is definitely a vote I earned.”
Bomberger was inspired when he joined the “Democracy Spring” demonstration in April, which started with 150 setting out from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and marching 10 days to Washington, D.C., where they were joined by thousands in demonstrations with the message: “The American people will no longer accept the status quo of big money corruption and voter suppression,” according to the organization’s website.
The Valencia resident returned home determined to take a stand against big money and corruption in politics, and decided to do so
through a campaign for Congress, he said in an interview.
But after Democracy Spring it was too late for a candidate to get his name on the ballot, so Bomberger decided to run as a write-in candidate.
“This is so much bigger than one candidate, one election,” he said. “I want to be a driving force in getting people involved in politics.”
Bomberger chose Congress rather than any other race because of congressional powers: “The power to legislate and the power of the
purse.”
But when it comes to campaign funds, the write-in candidate has a very small purse to work with. He’s getting by on small donations from friends and family.
So he launched a social media campaign and shared a number of videos introducing himself, explaining exactly where he stands on the issues and what he hopes to change.
He is also getting face time with voters by attending events and visiting businesses. Bomberger did win a seat at the table during a Canyon Country Advisory Committee candidates’ forum last month at the Canyon Country Moose Lodge.
The top two fundraisers in the race for the 25th Congressional District are Republican incumbent Steve Knight and Democratic challenger Bryan Caforio. They have raised $824,261 and $386,167, respectively. Trailing them in funds raised is Democrat Lou Vince, who still has $89,000 in his war chest.
But Bomberger seems undaunted.
“It only takes one person to stand for the truth,” he said. “If enough of us stand up, you get the ripple effect.”