Roach Exterminators

The gloves are off as Republican candidates in the race for convicted Republican felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham's seat in congress attempt to climb over each other in their race to finish second to Democrat Francine Busby.

Polls suggest that the Republican side of the race is to close to call. The Three Stooges: Howard Kaloogian, Vincent Eric Roach and Brian Bilbray are locked in mortal combat. Alan Uke, another millionaire Republican, has started to make inroads into the front runners numbers.

Thanks to his $2.4 million in self-funding, Roach has purchased a position as the Republican front runner. So, it comes as no surprise that Bilbray and Uke are taking aim at Roach with a late campaign advertising blitz.

Bilbray's campaign has a new mailer out that expands on the plot line raised earlier in the week that Roach has seldom bothered to vote or even register. Roach's voting failures are spelled out in terms of issues near and dear to the hearts of California Republicans (Defense of Marriage - Prop 22, English in Schools - Prop 227, Death Penalty - Prop 18). More curious is Bilbray's charge that Roach is a carpetbagger, who mysteriously appeared in San Diego from, the Devil's playground, San Francisco. That's quite an accusation coming from a guy who never lived in the district, whose California voting residence is his mother's house and whose family residence is in Virginia.

Uke doubles up on Roach, attacking him in a commercial for off-shoring American jobs and shipping "billions of dollars to foreigners."

Roach's millions aren't going to protect him from this last minute blitz of negative campaigning. He has spent his way to the top of the heap, but it is going hard to sustain that position as his opponents pound away. The going only gets tougher for Roach on Tuesday as he will be forced to run a get out the vote effort with hired "volunteers."

Double hat tip to San Diego Politics - Home of the Dirt.