The Blog @ Spolitics

Immigration Trumps “Culture of Corruption”

Despite reportedly inviting illegal aliens to vote for them, the Dems still couldn’t capture “Duke” Cunningham’s vacated seat. Turns out, what was supposed to be a referendum on corrupt Republicans was actually a referendum on liberal immigration policies. Here’s how Rasmussen put it:

The headline election story on Tuesday was the Congressional match in CA-50. Brian Bilbray (R) managed to hang on to what has previously been a safe GOP seat, but it took a ton of money to do so. Still, in the end, Democrat Francine Busby (D) ended up with 45% of the vote, the same total that John Kerry earned in the District two years ago. Democrats need to improve on Kerry’s numbers if they are to win control of the House in the fall.

One other indicator is now showing little change from Election 2004. On a national basis, after a GOP slump earlier in the year, the number of people now identifying themselves as Republicans is similar to the levels found in May 2004.

The Bilbray-Busby campaign also hit heavily on the immigration issue with Bilbray support [sic] the House bill (enforcement only) while Busby supported the Senate bill (comprehensive approach, including earned citizenship for illegal aliens). Both campaigns got bruised on this issue—Senator John McCain pulled out of a GOP fundraiser for Bilbray, a fact trumpeted on radio by the Busby campaign. However, Busby told a largely Latino audience, “You don’t need papers for voting.” That statement was played up on radio by the Bilbray campaign.

Nationally, Rasmussen Reports surveys have found that voters are more likely to support a generic candidate supporting enforcement-first immigration policies.

This election was supposed to send a message. Let’s hope it sent one to Senate Republicans.