Republican Elan Carr is just one of 18 candidates running to replace Rep. Henry Waxman in California’s 33rd District. He is also a Republican running in one of the most decidedly Democratic districts in the entire country. Still, in a recent conversation with the Daily Breeze, Carr sounded much of the same optimistic tone he has exhibited in recent debates.
Referring to Independent Bill Bloomfield’s strong but ultimately unsuccessful campaign against Waxman in 2012’s general election, Carr told the Breeze:
He won 46 percent against the safest member of the House in a presidential election year when Obama was on the ticket. I think it’s nothing short of foolish to say that two years later, when it’s an open seat and there is not a presidential election, that the seat is not in play.
Breitbart News’ Joel Pollak outlined a possible path to victory for Carr in a report last month; if strong Democratic candidates Wendy Greuel, Matt Miller, and Ted Lieu split enough of the Democratic vote between them, there is a chance Carr could sneak through the primary and live to fight in the general election.
In the Daily Breeze report, Carr says that his campaign’s top priority of fixing the nation’s schools resonates with district Democrats and Republicans alike, and claims that his campaign’s internal polling backs him up. Carr also believes his career as a gang prosecutor in the L.A. District Attorney’s office and his experience in the military give him key advantages, particularly among older Democratic women in the district.
“We see a big spike once my biography and message gets out,” he told the Breeze. “Why? They are mothers. They care about their kids and they care about safety. Nobody can compete with me in that space because of my track record.”
Carr has been hammering this point home in each debate held between the 33rd District candidates. While other candidates focus on women’s issues (Greuel), the NSA (Lieu), partisan gridlock breaking (Miller), and campaign finance reform (Williamson), Carr has been able to hone his message about fixing the nation’s educational system and bring the issue to the forefront.
“I prosecute 17, 18, and 19-year-old kids – and they are kids – and I send them away sometimes for longer than they have been on this earth,” Carr said in the report, echoing recent comments he made at the Beverly Hills debate. “By and large, our schools are failing our kids. I am sick and tired of this being talked about and not being fixed.”
Only two weeks remain until the California primary is held on Tuesday, June 3.
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