While in other parts of the country people are cleaning up the champagne bottles and getting accustomed to saying the delightful words "President-elect Obama," Democrats here in California's 44th Congressional District are still watching and waiting hopefully as the ballot counting in the Registrars' Offices in Orange and Riverside County grinds on.
Democratic challenger Bill Hedrick of Corona is watching the ballot counting like a hawk, while attorneys for incumbent Ken Calvert, also of Corona, attempted challenges. While Calvert's lead opened slightly Friday morning when the traditionally conservative permanent absentee ballots were counted, tens of thousands of vote by mail and provisional ballots remain to be counted in both counties, and Hedrick pledged to persevere until every vote is counted, establishing a Ballot Fund to pay legal expenses.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Friday:
Democrat Bill Hedrick's push to overtake Inland Rep. Ken Calvert in California's 44th Congressional District suffered a setback Friday when the eight-term GOP lawmaker increased his lead to 7,057 votes.
Election officials Friday began verifying and counting 150,000 absentee ballots cast in Riverside County. The process is expected to take a week. After the absentee ballots are counted, officials have to count an unknown number of provisional ballots from that district.
Calvert, R-Corona, declared victory on Thursday, when his lead among counted ballots reached 5,264 votes. But Hedrick has refused to concede.
If Bill Hedrick is successful in unseating the scandal-ridden Calvert, it could be one of the most overlooked sleeper upsets in the country, as Dante Atkins apologetically noted on Calitics. Outsiders like to dismiss California's Inland Empire, but those of us who live here have known for sometime this area is a sleeping tiger. Commenting on this race, Dave Dayen noted:
We also need to study his race to figure out why it worked when others faltered.
No kidding. I can tell you why it worked. Riverside has lots of Democrats, and they aren't apathetic. They are neglected. Like all voters, they need organization, nurturing and candidates worth voting for. Barack Obama and Bill Hedrick gave them that, and they came out to vote in droves.
This took not only Democrats themselves by surprise, but local Republicans, too. Michelle DeArmond reports:
After years of dominating Inland politics, the Republican Party here and elsewhere is disorganized, discouraged and faced with the daunting task of rebuilding following losses at all levels.
That's the word last week from experts and politicos now that the GOP has lost the White House and a pivotal Inland legislative seat and is still watching returns in a surprisingly close Inland congressional race. Democrats control both houses in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., and have gained voters in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties this year.
Republicans concede they have a lot of work to do.
"There's nowhere to go but up," said Gary Ovitt, chairman of the San Bernardino County GOP. "It's important for us to get back in touch with the values of the party, so I'm hopeful that we do that, both at the county level as well as the state level."
One of the most important things to recognize is that while Calvert is beating Hedrick 63.2% to 36.8% in the Orange County portion of CA-44, Hedrick is beating Calvert by a very respectable 52% to 48% in the Riverside County portion of the district. That's right. You read correctly. Democrat Bill Hedrick is currently leading an incumbent Republican in his congressional race in Riverside County by 4%.
Just imagine what would be possible here in the CA-44 and districts across the state if the CDP and DCCC gave Riverside more than a passing glance.