Abortion

Radanovich Denies Yelling 'Baby Killer' At Stupak

Brian Beutler | March 22, 2010, 11:11AM

Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA)

The denials keep coming. Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA), who was rumored to have yelled "baby killer" at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) during a floor debate on abortion says he's not the man of the hour.

"In light of media speculation that I was the one who made the comment, I would like to set the record straight and be clear that I did not make the statement," Radanovich says in a statement. "I condemn any manner of disrespect and name calling among my colleagues. While I am disappointed in Rep. Stupak's decision to vote for this legislation, I would never attack his character and decisions in such an unacceptable manner."

In the great tradition of Washington whodunnits, the hunt for the actual heckler continues.

CA-19

A Big GOP Field For CA-19 Open Seat -- But Who Actually Lives There?

Eric Kleefeld | January 8, 2010, 9:12AM

CA-19 candidates Jeff Denham (R) and Richard Pombo (R)

The open-seat race in the California 19th Congressional District, a Republican-leaning seat where incumbent GOP Rep. George Radanovich is retiring, has produced a very interesting scenario: Several candidates are running in the Republican primary to represent the district's voters -- but hardly any of them actually live there.

Three candidates are currently in the race: State Sen. Jeff Denham, who was recruited into the race by Radanovich; former Rep. Richard Pombo, who lost re-election in the neighboring 11th District in 2006; and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson. Another possible entrant is Fresno councilman Larry Westerlund, who is considering a campaign. Pombo, Denham and Westerlund don't live in the district -- only Patterson does. Denham's state Senate district overlaps with part of the Congressional district, as does Westerlund's council seat, but they do not live in the Congressional district itself.

The U.S. Constitution does not actually require that a Representative live in their district -- instead, it gives a very permissive standard that they must only be a resident of the state at the time of their election. There are in fact members of Congress from both parties who were not district residents at the time of their elections -- recent examples from California alone include Republican Tom McClintock and Democrat John Garamendi.

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George Radanovich

GOP Congressman Radanovich To Retire

Eric Kleefeld | December 29, 2009, 1:17PM

Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA).

Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA) is expected to announce today that he won't run for another term, the Sacramento Bee reports.

Radanovich was first elected in 1994. His district is clearly Republican-leaning. It voted 52%-46% for John McCain in 2008, and before that voted for George W. Bush in 2004 by even wider margin of 61%-38%.

A Republican source was optimistic about holding on to the seat, describing it to us as a very good Republican district.

Late Update: Radanovich has made the announcement official, citing his wife's battle with cancer as an important factor in the decision: "As many already know, Ethie has been valiantly fighting ovarian cancer for nearly three years. My family needs me, and I intend to be by their side to win this battle."

Radanovich also said that he recruited GOP state Sen. Jeff Denham, whose state legislative district partially overlaps with Radanovich's House district, to be the Republican candidate for the seat.