DeMaio Concedes

No recount. And that's that. (Except that Teabagistan will forever cite the sexual harassment scandals.)

AP Calls It: DeMaio Has Lost

SAN DIEGO: Rep. Scott Peters Takes Vote Count Lead Over Homocon Carl DeMaio

Via NBC San Diego:

An updated tally puts U.S. Rep. Scott Peters ahead of challenger Carl DeMaio by 861 votes in the tight race for the 52nd Congressional District. A final, certified winner will not be announced until Monday. After Election Night Tuesday, candidate Carl DeMaio led by fewer than a 1,000 votes, but both said they were optimistic about the outcome. DeMaio spokesman Dave McCulloch was at the county Registrar of Voters Office Thursday as the numbers were announced to give his take. "As you said, those numbers have changed a lot, and we still remain optimistic but cautious in that. There is still more data to be analyzed, there are still more votes to be counted and we want to make sure that every vote is counted in this election," he said. On Thursday, representatives from both campaigns monitored registrar workers as they counted thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots.

Multiple right wing sites and a Log Cabin chapter declared DeMaio the winner earlier today.

Carl DeMaio: Race Was Exhausting, So What's A Few More Days Of Counting?

Scandal-plagued homocon US House candidate Carl DeMaio held a press conference this morning where he declined to declared victory on his 752-vote lead. As about 180,000 provisional, absentee, and mail-in ballots remain to be counted statewide, DeMaio said, "It’s been a really exhausting campaign, what’s a few more days?" Despite no winner having been declared, multiple right wing sites are crowing about DeMaio's win over "liberal hate groups." In the clip below, you can see Log Cabin Republicans head Gregory Angelo standing behind DeMaio.

Still No Winner In DeMaio/Peters Race

Via NBC San Diego:

Marked by attack ads, sexual harassment allegations and a campaign headquarters break-in scandal, one of the nation’s most contentious and closely watched races comes to an end as 52nd Congressional District residents cast their ballots for Democrat incumbent Congressman Scott Peters or Republican challenger Carl DeMaio. With 100 percent of local precincts reporting, DeMaio has a 752 vote lead over Peters, though the county registrar says about 180,000 mail and provisional ballots have yet to be counted.

DeMaio has not declared victory.

Retweeted By Carl DeMaio

DeMaio has been blocking some writers and reporters on Twitter, but this one he likes.

Tweet Of The Day

(Via Scott Wooledge)

Carl DeMaio Burns Inside

From the California GOP, which notes that DeMaio has won the endorsement of the San Diego U-T, whose owner was a major backer of Prop 8.

Headline Of The Day

The scandals never stop for homocon US House candidate Carl DeMaio:

On Thursday, July 10, Harper said, he returned to DeMaio’s Miramar campaign office in the afternoon following a day of walking neighborhoods and knocking on doors for the campaign. He said there had been a news conference at the headquarters, so DeMaio and other staffers were still in the office. According to a campaign press release, DeMaio had a news conference at noon that day to "blast sweeping Medicare cuts."

Harper said he went to the restroom and didn't know anyone was in there. "I was at the urinal, and (DeMaio) came from the stall that was closest to the urinal and was kind of just standing there hovering," Harper said. "I turned around and realized that it was Carl. He had his pants up, but his fly was undone, and he had his hand grasping his genitals." Harper said DeMaio didn't say anything to him, and he didn't say anything to DeMaio. "I just walked out. I didn't say anything to him, I just left," Harper said.

As they've done too many times to count, the DeMaio camp is denying this latest "false smear."

New From Rep. Scott Peters

Here's the latest campaign ad from Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), who has been endorsed by NOM because the only thing worse than another pro-LGBT Democrat would be gay Republican Carl DeMaio. Despite an avalanche of DeMaio scandals, the race remains locked in a dead heat.

Brian Brown Robocalls In San Diego: Carl DeMaio Could Do Damage For Decades!

Via JMG reader Patrick, here's the call he got this weekend from Brian Brown, who urges San Diego voters not to vote for homocon US House candidate Carl DeMaio. "Consider voting for Democrat Scott Peters. Peters is wrong on the issues but at least we can defeat him in two years. If DeMaio is elected, he may hold office and do damage for decades! Please vote against Carl DeMaio on November 4th."

Yet Another Carl DeMaio Scandal

Another day, another scandal for homocon US House candidate Carl DeMaio, whose campaign is now being accused of secretly authoring a UT San Diego editorial that slammed his opponent, Democratic Rep. Scott Peters.

Controversial and highly disputed emails provided to NBC 7 Investigates include statements from Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio where he appears to be bragging about his campaign writing a UT San Diego editorial that was highly critical of DeMaio’s opponent and had a “UT San Diego editorial board” byline. Former DeMaio staffer Todd Bosnich said he and campaign spokesman Dave McCulloch were the authors of an editorial entitled “Scott Peters and the Mount Soledad Shuffle.” The emails provided to NBC 7 indicate that after the editorial ran, McCulloch reached out to a consultant, other campaign staff and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) boasting that “UT San Diego scorched Peters over the Soledad Cross today, saying ‘Peters has a history of being both slippery and insubstantive’ and that ‘rewriting his own history and ducking responsibility for his actions have always come easy to Scott Peters.’" In response, Alleigh Marree of the NRCC said: “This is great. Will be able to use these lines A LOT.” In the email thread provided to NBC 7 Investigates, DeMaio wrote back, “Well, we did wrote (sic) it ourselves.”

The UT San Diego is denying NBC's claims. The paper is owned by major Prop 8 donor and hotel mogul Doug Manchester, whose properties were targeted with boycotts in the wake of the referendum's passage. DeMaio has financial ties with Manchester that go back more than a decade and the paper has endorsed DeMaio. A poll issued early this week showed DeMaio and Peters in a dead heat. Their race is one of the most closely watched in the nation.

SAN DIEGO: New Poll Shows Carl DeMaio And Rep. Scott Peters In Dead Heat

Via the San Diego Fox affliliate:

The race for a San Diego-area congressional seat held by Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, is a dead heat, according to results of a poll released Tuesday. The survey conducted on behalf of 10News and U-T San Diego found former Councilman Carl DeMaio — a Republican — with a 46-45 lead over the incumbent in a sampling of more than 600 likely voters in the Nov. 4 general election. SurveyUSA called 650 registered voters who live in the 52nd Congressional District between Friday and Monday, and 10 percent were undecided. The campaign, which is being watched nationally, has been punctuated with accusations that DeMaio masturbated in front of a former staffer, and that backers of Peters got a DeMaio “playbook” allegedly taken by vandals in a break-in earlier this year. On Monday, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said there wasn’t enough evidence for charges in the break-in or sexual harassment investigations.

The new result shows a three point decline for DeMaio.

No Charges In DeMaio Office Break-In

Via the San Diego U-T:

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced today that there was not enough evidence for her to file criminal charges in the May burglary of Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio's campaign office. Dumanis also said in a statement that her office would not pursue sexual misconduct charges against DeMaio — allegations that DeMaio has said come from the prime suspect in the burglary. DeMaio claims that a former campaign staffer, Todd Bosnich, broke into his office on May 27 and vandalized it. Bosnich went on CNN this month to accuse DeMaio of sexual misconduct. DeMaio has repeatedly suggested the accusations are a smokescreen against the criminal charges.

In other breaking DeMaio news:

Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio wants voters to know that he's down with the whole women's rights thing: access to birth control, equal pay, etc. But, behind the scenes, if you're a woman he disagrees with, you could be the subject of ridicule. On Jan. 22, DeMaio sent an email to two members of his staff, campaign spokesperson Dave McCulloch and then-policy director Todd Bosnich (Bosnich has accused DeMaio of sexually harassing him and trying to buy his silence). The email's subject line is "Kate Lyon" and includes a photo of an overweight woman wearing a bra and eating what looks to be a Twinkie chicken nugget. (The woman in the photo is not Lyon.) Based on the email's metadata, it appears to be authentic.

UPDATE: And even more sleazy news about DeMaio:

Anonymous emails, sent to the former staffer who accused Republican congressional candidate Carl DeMaio of sexual harassment, are the subject of FBI agent interviews with potential witnesses, sources have confirmed to NBC7 Investigates. DeMaio is locked in a nasty, raging battle against first-term incumbent Rep. Scott Peters for the 52nd Congressional District. But several sources close to the investigation told NBC7 that FBI agents and a lawyer from the U.S. Attorney's office asked questions focused on the accusation the Bosniches had received harassing emails, and an alleged hack of his Gmail account. The investigators also inquired about Bosnich’s claim that he was offered $50,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement. A source close to the investigation told NBC7 Investigates the emails threatened Bosnich's political career and put pressure on him to accept the $50,000, saying "you better keep your mouth shut and take the deal." FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth said his agency does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

NPR: Gays Don't Like Carl DeMaio

CNN On Carl DeMaio Scandal

Last night CNN ran an extensive look into the sexual harassment scandal that is rocking the US House campaign of San Diego homocon Carl DeMaio. Talking Points Memo recaps CNN's report:

Republican Congressional Candidate Carl DeMaio, running in California's 52nd Congressional District, allegedly once asked a campaign staffer to come into his office and when the staffer did DeMaio, whose back was turned, turned around and masturbated in front of the staffer. That's according to Todd Bosnich, a former staffer for the DeMaio campaign, who detailed the allegations of alleged sexual harassment against the Republican candidate, which included making inappropriate advances, massaging and kissing his neck, and groping, in an interview with CNN that aired Friday afternoon. "I saw his hand —— his penis in his hand," Bosnich said when describing the incident. "He had a smile on his face. And as soon as I came over, he was looking at me." "So there was no mistaking what was happening?" CNN's Chris Frates asked. "There was no mistaking whatsoever," Bosnich said. DeMaio and the candidate's campaign has strongly denied Bosnich's accusations.

Watch the full report below.

New From Rep. Scott Peters

Another attack on Carl DeMaio.

CALIFORNIA: Anti-Gay Activists Call For "Tactical Vote" Against Carl DeMaio

Anti-gay groups hate Democrats, but if there's anything they hate even more, it's gay Republicans.  Therefore a coalition of anti-gay activists today issued a joint letter calling for a "tactical vote" against homocon House candidate Carl DeMaio and a vote for the incumbent Democrat, Rep. Scott Peters.

Christian conservatives face a moral dilemma in a key San Diego election race. We know we have a clear choice in voting between the candidates when one of the candidates stands in opposition on issues relevant to the Christian community: life, marriage, religious freedom... Obviously we vote for the candidate who is in-line with biblically based values. But how should we vote when both candidates share virtually the same views, and stand in opposition to those values? Some people choose to simply abstain from voting, out of frustration with both candidates. However, staying at home on Election Day might provide the margin of victory for a candidate who will do far greater damage and harm to society.

Such a race, we believe, calls for a different type of strategy when voting. Rather than sitting out the election, and potentially allowing a candidate who will cause great damage to win an election, we suggest a strategy that we call "Defensive Tactical Voting." What is Defensive Tactical Voting? Simply this: voting for a candidate who, while doing some damage to society, will do less damage than the other candidate(s) on the ballot. And who will provide a greater opportunity for defeat in a future election. We are aware of the fact that this strategy cannot always be applied broadly, but only to specific races.

An example of such an election is the 52nd Congressional District in San Diego, CA. Two candidates are running: Incumbent Democrat Scott Peters, and Republican Carl DeMaio. Both candidates are pro-abortion and pro-same sex marriage. Both candidates are liberal and "progressive." Yet one of these candidates will do far more damage to the moral fabric of our society than the other. That candidate: the Republican candidate, Carl DeMaio. Why is Carl DeMaio so damaging as a potential Congressman? DeMaio is an avowed LGBTQ activist (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning).

The LGBTQ movement believes in a genderless society, where God's order of male and female is denied. Their goal is much greater than that. It is to impose their views upon us, with the intent of abolishing our rights to freedom of religious conscience, coercing us to affirm homosexual practice and to forever alter the historic, natural definition of marriage. Allow us to be clear, in court cases all over America, it is now overwhelmingly evident that religious liberty and the radical homosexual agenda can not co-exist. Authentic biblical believers are losing their right to the first amendment expression whenever the homosexual agenda gets its way.

The joke, as always, is on them as DeMaio is exactly the kind of alleged "gay activist" that we do not need in Congress. Among the letter's signees are Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, crackpot Pastor Jim Garlow, "ex-gay" activist Charles Limandri, and two dozen other nutjobs you've never heard of.

Homocon Carl DeMaio Hit With Allegations Of Sexual Harassment And Bribery

The US House campaign of San Diego homocon Carl DeMaio was rocked yesterday after a former staffer accused him of sexual harassment and bribery. Via Politico:

At a news conference at his campaign headquarters, DeMaio called the allegations “absolutely untrue” and a “complete lie.” He added that authorities had questioned him and his campaign staff about the harassment claims, concluded they were unfounded and closed the case. DeMaio, 40, said the accuser concocted the story after he was identified as a “prime suspect” in a break-in at DeMaio’s campaign office last spring. “All the evidence that was collected by the police department clearly indicated this individual was the prime suspect, and, it’s unfortunate, but we will continue to allow the district attorney to proceed with her case and weighing the case to prosecute for the break-in of our office,” said DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman trying to unseat Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) in one of the nation’s most competitive House races.

The former staffer, Todd Bosnich, denies breaking in to DeMaio's office and repeated his charges to Politico.

Bosnich, who worked as policy director on DeMaio’s congressional campaign, also said that on June 2, he taped a 27-minute interview with a conservative San Diego radio station in which he described in explicit detail how, over the course of more than six months of employment, DeMaio became increasingly aggressive in his sexual behavior toward him. The interview, which was conducted with host Mike Slater and obtained by POLITICO, never aired. When Bosnich complained about DeMaio’s alleged behavior to the candidate’s campaign manager, the response was that he shouldn’t have told DeMaio he was gay, Bosnich alleged in the radio interview. Bosnich, who was 28 at the time of the radio interview, said he approached DeMaio on May 18 and told him he needed to quit the race or stop his behavior. The next day, Bosnich said, the campaign manager called him into his office and told him that DeMaio had lost his trust in him. He also said he was offered him $50,000 to sign a nondisclosure agreement. He said he rejected the offer.

A spokesman for DeMaio claims that Bosnich was fired in May for plagiarizing. A report issued by DeMaio's office at that time was found to have been almost entirely copied from the National Journal. The San Diego District Attorney's office has declined to comment about their investigation into the break-in at DeMaio's office. A poll released on Tuesday shows DeMaio leading Democratic incumbent Rep. Scott Peters by three points.

Homocon Carl DeMaio: I Am A Proud Gay American, Not A Tea Party Extremist

Not only that, he's an ORPHAN. The Voice Of San Diego reacts:

DeMaio released an ad this week in his congressional race that cements a shift that played out far longer than the others, but one that’s no less dramatic and a lot more personal. DeMaio looks straight into the camera for most of the ad, and leads off by referring to himself as, “a proud gay American.” Family photos from his troubled upbringing flicker across the screen. It’s tough to overstate how big of departure this is for DeMaio. More than three years ago, DeMaio was tight-lipped about his personal life and upbringing, almost never showing any side of himself that wasn’t related to politics. When a television station asked to film the four major mayoral candidates’ hobbies, one chose working out, another walking her dog and the third playing the piano. DeMaio picked knocking on doors for his campaign.