GOP state lawmaker John Campbell was the odds-on favorite to win a special election Tuesday to fill the congressional seat left vacant when Republican Christopher Cox resigned to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.
State Sen. Campbell ran to succeed Cox, who represented the Orange County district in the House for 17 years.
Campbell faced third-party candidate Jim Gilchrist, a founder of the Minuteman Project border patrol group. Gilchrist made illegal immigration the centerpiece of his campaign, calling for thousands more guards to patrol the nation’s borders.
Three other candidates were on the ballot: Democrat Steve Young, a lawyer who was given little chance in one of the most reliably Republican districts in the nation; Libertarian Bruce Cohen, a real estate broker; and Green Party candidate Bea Tiritilli, a schoolteacher.
From Associated Press