Baugh Leads Despite Indictment

SANTA ANA —  In one of the most closely watched legislative races in the state, Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) on Tuesday captured most of the absentee vote--ballots cast, for the most part, before his indictment last week on felony charges.

Despite the torrent of publicity since then, Baugh remained optimistic that he would prevail in the Republican primary.

“I feel confident I can win this,” he said, accepting encouragement from well-wishers at Republican headquarters Tuesday night, including Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach).

One of Baugh’s challengers, Cypress City Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age, said the absentee vote gave the incumbent a significant boost.

“That’s a pretty high jump to catch up on,” Age said.

The other Republican challenger in the race was Barbara A. Coe, an activist for the passage of Proposition 187.

The final days of the campaign were marked by the indictments against Baugh, a freshman legislator who is charged with campaign law violations stemming from the special election in which he won his seat.

The traditionally sleepy 67th Assembly District--a predominantly white, affluent and solidly Republican area covering the north coastal portion of Orange County--has been deep in controversy since June, when Doris Allen, the district’s Republican incumbent, was elected speaker of the Assembly as part of a Democratic plan brokered by former Speaker Willie Brown.

Outraged Republicans immediately launched a recall campaign. Allen was ousted Nov. 28, and replaced by Baugh, a 33-year-old lawyer, the handpicked choice of Rohrabacher.

A controversy over that special election was touched off when The Times reported that Laurie Campbell, a Democrat and friend of Baugh, had been put on the ballot to dilute support for Linda Moulton-Patterson, a former mayor of Huntington Beach. Baugh has denied trying to rig the election.

After an investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office, three Republican aides pleaded guilty to election fraud growing out of Campbell’s abortive candidacy. Then, last week, Baugh was indicted on four felonies, including falsifying campaign reports and persuading another person to commit perjury. He also was charged with 18 misdemeanors for allegedly concealing or misreporting the source of campaign funds and loans.