Simon to endorse Campbell in GOP Senate race

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Conservative GOP politician Bill Simon, the former Republican nominee for governor, will announce his endorsement Monday of former Rep. Tom Campbell in the GOP Senate primary.

Simon ran as the true fiscal and social conservative in the GOP gubernatorial race in 2002, besting former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in the primary to take on Democrat Gray Davis, who ultimately won the seat. Riordan, like Campbell, is a social moderate. Interestingly, Simon joined Riordan in supporting Campbell, despite their differences on issues such as abortion (Simon is staunchly pro-life; Campbell and Riordan are pro-choice). The endorsement seeks to buttress Campbell’s campaign claims that Republican primary voters will overlook his moderate social leanings because of his fiscal credentials.

‘It’s a very difficult time economically,’ Simon said in a web ad created by the Campbell campaign. ‘Every time has its own issues, and right now, it’s economic issues that are clearly most important. ... He stands for fiscal restraint.’

‘That’s really why I endorsed him, because he’s really strong fiscally and he’s very strong with respect to free markets, you know, which are important to me,’ Simon said. ‘We don’t agree on some of the other issues, you know, some of the social issues. But, you know, you’re never going to agree with someone on everything. I think he’s someone who is unafraid to stand up and make his views known.’

-- Seema Mehta