Rep. McNerney faces stiff challenge from Harmer
Republicans are trying to regain control of Congress in November but political oddsmakers have said there is only one Democrat in California at risk of losing his congressional seat – Rep. Jerry McNerney of Pleasanton.
His challenger in the Bay Area’s 11th Congressional District is Republican David Harmer, an attorney who says he is running to rein in federal spending.
Republicans are using the same charges against McNerney as they are against Democrats around the country – that he supports bigger government, has voted to increase taxes and is in lockstep with his party’s leadership.
“On every major vote, he’s stood with the Obama-Pelosi agenda and I don’t think that agenda is good for the district,” said Harmer, who lost to Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove (Sacramento County), in last year’s special election in the 10th Congressional District.
The 11th district, which includes parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Joaquin counties, is considered competitive because it includes liberal East Bay suburbs and more rural, conservative areas in the state’s interior.
Former Republican Rep. Richard Pombo held the seat for seven terms and beat McNerney in his first run in 2004 when President George W. Bush carried the district. In 2006, McNerney, boosted by an anti-Pombo campaign funded by environmental groups, defeated Pombo, riding a wave of Democratic victories across the nation. He won again in 2008, when President Obama took the district.
One of GOP’s ‘young guns’
Harmer’s campaign has drawn the attention of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which named Harmer one of its “young guns” – one of the GOP challengers most likely to unseat a Democrat.
Harmer lives outside of the district in San Ramon, but state law only mandates that candidates live in California to run for Congress.
There are some bright spots in the race for McNerney. Democrats have pulled even with Republicans in registration numbers after being down seven points in 2006 and 2 1/2 in 2008. McNerney also has about $1.2 million in cash on hand to Harmer’s $200,000.
McNerney said he is “not a partisan hack” and cites a National Journal ranking that listed him as one of the most moderate representatives of any party this year. Still, he voted for the stimulus, health care reform and Wall Street regulations – three bills that Republicans have attacked as signs of Democrats’ increasing spending.
Harmer described the federal government’s spending as “fiscal child abuse” and said the district is experiencing “buyers’ remorse” for voting for Obama and the Democrats in 2008.
McNerney defends his votes, saying that the economy needs time to recover and that progress is being made. Of the Democratic leadership, he would only say that “they’re doing the best they can in a difficult environment.”
Despite his support for some of the most controversial bills of the past two years, McNerney has gained the support of some local Republicans, in part because of his advocacy for veterans. McNerney successfully lobbied to get a new veterans medical clinic in San Joaquin County, which is expected to be completed in 2015.
Danville leaders split
“He has done more work for veterans than anyone else,” said Mike Doyle, the mayor of Danville who served in the Air Force. “I really and truly appreciate that.”
But Doyle’s colleague Candace Andersen, a Danville city councilwoman and former mayor, has endorsed Harmer, citing the Democrats’ failure to improve the economy.
“I’m not happy with the direction we’re going in,” Andersen said. “Jerry McNerney is a wonderful person, but I don’t like his politics.”
California’s 11th Congressional District
Where: Includes parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Joaquin counties.
Incumbent: Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton
Challenger: Republican David Harmer
Why it matters: It is one of two races in the state that political oddsmakers say is a toss-up in November’s election.
Registration: Voters are evenly split between Republican and Democrat, with 39 percent each, according to the California secretary of state.
E-mail Drew Joseph at ajoseph@sfchronicle.com.
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