But the 100-or-so GOP followers who met Thursday night to see party candidates during the Long Beach Area Republicans meeting at the Long Beach Holiday Inn Airport Hotel and Conference Center found reasons to be hopeful about 2012.
Specifically, new district boundaries drawn last year seem to have created more favorable metrics for local Republicans in certain races.
Long Beach City Councilman Gary DeLong pointed out that 40 percent of the 47th Congressional District, where he is mounting a challenge to state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, is located in Republican-friendly Orange County.
And though Democrats hold an 11-point voter registration advantage in the 47th, the gap between frequent voters is just 2 percent, DeLong claimed.
"This is an extraordinarily competitive seat," he said.
Former South Bay Rep. Steve Kuykendall, who is also running for the seat, said Democratic rolls in the district are heavy with civil service workers such as police who aren't traditional liberals.
"It is a conservative Democrat that in some parts of the country are Republican," Kuykendall said.
Among other office hopefuls who spoke at the meet-and-greet event were U.S. Senate candidates John Boruff and Rabbi Nachum Shifren; 47th Congressional District candidate Sanford Kahn; Martha Flores Gibson, who is running in the 70th
Assembly District; Long Beach 4 th Council District candidate John Watkins; and Davina Keiser, who is running for the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees. Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, seeking a fifth and final term this year, was unable to attend.
Rick Velasquez, his chief of staff, spoke on Knabe's behalf and thanked the community for its support during a county redistricting process that almost saw his boss drawn out of his seat.
A strict three-minute time limit was placed on candidates, but for Knabe, a rare Republican icon in Los Angeles County, the time keeper jokingly made an exception.
"Don gets 10 minutes," she said.
Though most of the Republicans who spoke expressed moderate views matched to local election demographics, there was some red meat for ardent conservatives.
Shifren, a teacher, surfer and former lifeguard who has run for office before, said he would fight against "communists working 24-7 to take down this nation."
"We refuse to stand up for America," Shifren continued. "We refuse to stand up for our English language."
He raised a bumper sticker he considers a touchstone for his campaigns.
It read: "Do I believe in gun control? Yeah, I use both hands."
eric.bradley@presstelegram.com, 562-714-2104, twitter.com/EricBradleyPT
Specifically, new district boundaries drawn last year seem to have created more favorable metrics for local Republicans in certain races.
Long Beach City Councilman Gary DeLong pointed out that 40 percent of the 47th Congressional District, where he is mounting a challenge to state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, is located in Republican-friendly Orange County.
And though Democrats hold an 11-point voter registration advantage in the 47th, the gap between frequent voters is just 2 percent, DeLong claimed.
"This is an extraordinarily competitive seat," he said.
Former South Bay Rep. Steve Kuykendall, who is also running for the seat, said Democratic rolls in the district are heavy with civil service workers such as police who aren't traditional liberals.
"It is a conservative Democrat that in some parts of the country are Republican," Kuykendall said.
Among other office hopefuls who spoke at the meet-and-greet event were U.S. Senate candidates John Boruff and Rabbi Nachum Shifren; 47th Congressional District candidate Sanford Kahn; Martha Flores Gibson, who is running in the 70th
Assembly District; Long Beach 4 th Council District candidate John Watkins; and Davina Keiser, who is running for the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees. Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, seeking a fifth and final term this year, was unable to attend.
Rick Velasquez, his chief of staff, spoke on Knabe's behalf and thanked the community for its support during a county redistricting process that almost saw his boss drawn out of his seat.
A strict three-minute time limit was placed on candidates, but for Knabe, a rare Republican icon in Los Angeles County, the time keeper jokingly made an exception.
"Don gets 10 minutes," she said.
Though most of the Republicans who spoke expressed moderate views matched to local election demographics, there was some red meat for ardent conservatives.
Shifren, a teacher, surfer and former lifeguard who has run for office before, said he would fight against "communists working 24-7 to take down this nation."
"We refuse to stand up for America," Shifren continued. "We refuse to stand up for our English language."
He raised a bumper sticker he considers a touchstone for his campaigns.
It read: "Do I believe in gun control? Yeah, I use both hands."
eric.bradley@presstelegram.com, 562-714-2104, twitter.com/EricBradleyPT
Dana Rohrabacher, U.S. Congressman 46th District of California 
Republican Party of Los Angeles County 
Nancy Sciortino, Treasurer 
Tim O'Reilly, Assistant Secretary 
Gene Champagne, Chair 
Evelyn Robertson, Vice Chair 
Los Angeles County Lincoln Club
