Politics & Government
Local Aims to be CA's 1st Hispanic Senator
Santa Monica resident Al Ramirez enters a crowded race to unseat Dianne Feinstein in the 2012 race to represent California in the U.S. Senate.
A conservative from Santa Monica announced Tuesday that he will join a growing list of Republicans who will vie to unseat Dianne Feinstein in her 2012 reelection campaign for the U.S. Senate.
In what's bound to be a crowded and expensive race, Al Ramirez said he will distinguish himself from other Republican hopefuls by becoming popular with California's large Hispanic population.
In his announcement, he said that Independent voter dissatisfaction with the economy and "Obama's failed promises on immigration could turn Hispanics against Feinstein."
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Ramirez said he wants to see the country's boarders secured to keep out violence and drugs, and also to see immigrants enter the United States in safer ways.
"Hispanics are disappointed with Democrats, but haven’t seen any reason to vote Republican," he said. "I don’t think they’ll vote for me just because I’m Hispanic. I can talk about issues important to them without demonizing them… it’s a matter of tone."
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The odds are slim, but with Spanish and Mexican heritages, he said he could become the state's first Hispanic U.S. senator.
Other Republicans to announce U.S. senate runs in California include Orly Taitz, the Orange County lawyer and dentist who made a name for herself questioning the veracity of President Obama's birth certificate, and rabbi Nachum Shifren. Also considering runs are: Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard executive who launched a competitive campaign against Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2010; Rep. Darrell Issa and former Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.
Ramirez's Southern accent might also separate him from the pack.
He was born in Dallas, where he said he earned a bachelor’s in American Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. He moved to Santa Monica in 2002 after the dotcom bust.
“If you’re going to start over, you might as well start over at the beach,” he said of the crash of FlashNet, which he had helped take public. “I’ve taken a company public by 29 and lost it all by the time I was 30.”
This year, Republicans need to win only four seats to regain control of the Senate, and with 23 Democrats either up for re-election or retiring next year, political analysts acknowledge that odds favor the GOP.
But Ramirez doesn't boast a stellar political track record. So far, his only experience has been as a candidate.
At the age of 22 he unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Dallas City Council. He also lost a campaign for the state legislature in 1992. More recently in 2010, he failed to garner the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in California.
This year, “I’m not just running as an Hispanic… I am a Hispanic, but I’m also running as a tech professional and a conservative Republican,” he said.
In announcing that he will form an exploratory committee to begin fundraising for another U.S Senate bid in California, Ramirez said that there a couple of odds working in his and the Republican party's favor.
He cited a referendum passed in California in 2010 that puts all the candidates, both Republican and Democrat, on the same primary ballot.
"This could provide Mr. Ramirez and the GOP the unique opportunity to reach out to Hispanic voters during the nomination process to improve their chances in November," the announcement states.
Additionally, Feinstein's poll numbers have been weak. She also saw negative press after it was reported that her campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee "wiped out" her campaign funds, he said.
"This gives Mr. Ramirez reason to believe she could be a prime target for voter backlash in an anti-incumbent environment," the announcement states.
Feinstein has retained her seat since her first election in 1992. The last Republican to be voted to California's U.S. senate seat was John F. Seymour in 1991.
— The Huffington Post contributed to this report.
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