http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00115.html

GOP-Backed Candidate Forced Into Runoff

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 5, 2005; 5:55 AM

IRVINE, Calif. -- Illegal immigration emerged as a critical issue in the race to fill the nation's only vacant House seat, as an anti-immigration activist siphoned off enough votes from the GOP-backed favorite to force a runoff election.

State Sen. John Campbell finished with 46 percent of the vote in Tuesday's special election in Southern California's heavily Republican Orange County, but failed to gain the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

He will face the top vote-getters from four other parties in the Dec. 6 election. Second-place finisher Marilyn Brewer, a moderate Republican who drew 17 percent of the vote, was eliminated from the race.

Campbell is still likely to win the seat relinquished by former Rep. Christopher Cox, a conservative Republican who left after 16 years in office to become chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The combined vote Tuesday of his runoff opponents was less than 25 percent.

However, one of Campbell's most vocal critics remained in the race. American Independent Party candidate Jim Gilchrist, who repeatedly attacked Campbell's anti-immigration pedigree during the campaign, finished third in the 17-candidate field with 14 percent of the vote.

Gilchrist is co-founder of the Minuteman Project that has organized volunteer patrols along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigrants. Some voters said they couldn't decide until the last minute between Campbell and Gilchrist.

Democrat Steve Young finished fourth with 9 percent.

In other races around the country Tuesday:

_ In Albuquerque, N.M., Mayor Martin Chavez became the first incumbent ever re-elected in city history, while an effort to increase the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour from the current $5.15 narrowly failed.

_ In Cleveland, first-term Mayor Jane Campbell and City Council President Frank Jackson advanced to the Nov. 8 mayoral election after beating a field of five fellow Democrats and a Republican in a nonpartisan primary.

Jackson, who topped Campbell by more than 4,000 votes, has support from the city's business community and has complained the city isn't safe. The city's first female mayor was hurt by a tough economy that contributed to police, fire and teacher layoffs.

Because the election fell on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, Orange County officials had organized five days of early balloting at nine locations, including four synagogues. Turnout on Election Day in the race was about 20 percent.