Dannemeyer Quits U.S. Senate Race, to Seek Reelection

Saying he could no longer afford to buy radio or television time, Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) Monday withdrew as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate and announced that he will seek reelection to the House of Representatives.

At the same time, Dannemeyer, a staunch conservative who started and ended the race with little statewide recognition, issued a pronouncement against the high cost of statewide campaigns.

“A person (running for the Senate) must have several million dollars available to, in effect, sell soap,” Dannemeyer, 56, told a news conference in Santa Ana.

“It has little to do with the candidate’s qualifications, his position on the issues, his or her voting record or aspirations for the future,” Dannemeyer said. “You have to be able to buy those 30- and 60-second spots that say nothing about issues or the candidates but that in some cases, make a silk purse out of sow’s ear.”

Dannemeyer was the second of 10 GOP candidates--each seeking to be the Republican nominee against Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.)--to quit because of lack of funds. On Jan. 15 Long Beach Rep. Daniel E. Lungren dropped out for the same reason.

When he announced for the race on Dec. 9, Dannemeyer claimed $200,000 in cash and $300,000 in pledges and insisted he could raise a total of $2 million. And, off and on during his colorful campaign, he sometimes gained statewide attention.

Leading a group called “The Bird Watchers,” Dannemeyer in late summer sought to publicize his opposition to the reelection of Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird by bringing a stuffed turkey to his speeches. The stunt sometimes embarrassed other anti-Bird groups.

Dannemeyer decried deficit spending, sought a return to a gold-backed currency and enthusiastically argued for deep cuts in defense, health and welfare spending.

The veteran congressman denounced homosexuals (“God created Adam and Eve--not Adam and Steve,” he would say) and claimed that those with AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) emit a dangerous “spore.” Later, he admitted he had no evidence to support his spore theory. State Sen. Ed Davis, another U.S. Senate candidate, blasted Dannemeyer for running a campaign based on “hatred and bigotry.”

But publicity over his controversial views was not enough to solve Dannemeyer’s fund-raising problems. Most of his cash was spent on travel, brochures and stamps, Dannemeyer said Monday.

The Los Angeles Times Poll released last week said only 3% of Republican voters would have supported him if the election were held now. And last week, when his staff tried to buy television and radio ads, Dannemeyer said he realized his campaign was over.

“There’s an old saying in life: ‘You can’t push a string,’ ” the congressman said Monday. “If you don’t have the money in the bank right now to go out and buy the time . . . to be involved in purchasing those 30- and 60-second radio spots around the state to build up your name ID, you’re not in the race and you have to face that.”