Ex-GOP Congressman Ahead in Calif. Race

Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate for congress in the 50th district, waits for her ballot at the office of the registrar of voters while voting Monday June 5, 2006, in San Diego. Busby is in a close race with Republican Brian Bilbray to fill the seat left vacant with the conviction of Republican Randall "Duke" Cunningham. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) (Lenny Ignelzi - AP)

RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. -- In a race seen as a barometer for the midterm elections, a former Republican congressman led early Wednesday in a GOP-dominated House district where Democrats had hoped to capitalize on the scandal that ousted former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Former Rep. Brian Bilbray was ahead of Democrat Francine Busby in early returns in the solidly Republican San Diego-area district about 30 miles north of the Mexican border. The immigration debate and a GOP corruption scandal were major themes in the campaign for the seat held by Cunningham before he went to prison for bribery.

Tuesday's victor will serve the remaining seven months of Cunningham's term.

With 36 percent of precincts reporting, Bilbray had 31,057 votes, or 49.7 percent, compared with 27,860 votes, or 44.6 percent, for Busby.

Bilbray made immigration the centerpiece of his campaign, calling for construction of a fence "from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico" and barring illegal immigrants from collecting Social Security benefits.

Busby, a local school board member who ran against Cunningham in 2004, focused her campaign on public dissatisfaction with the Bush administration and the GOP-led Congress. She assailed Bilbray for working as a lobbyist in Washington and routinely referred to him as "lobbyist Bilbray."

Democrats spent nearly $2 million on the high-stakes contest, and the GOP spent more than $4 million. President Bush and first lady Laura Bush recorded automated telephone messages for Bilbray. A mass e-mailing from Sen. John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential candidate, was sent last week to more than 100,000 supporters, urging them to help get out the vote. Al Gore also recorded a phone message telling Democrats to go to the polls.

Cunningham's downfall threatened to upset the electoral balance in this longtime GOP stronghold, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 3-to-2. Cunningham pleaded guilty last year to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors and was sentenced in March to more than eight years in prison.

Well before Election Day, some Democrats claimed victory just by forcing a fight for the seat.

"If I get close, then we've made the point that this is no longer a safe seat, but it's not enough," Busby said in a recent interview. "We want to win."

Immigration politics animated many voters living so close to the Mexican border.

Busby backed a Senate-passed bill that combines enhanced border security with a guest-worker program and a shot at citizenship for many of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.

She drew attention in the race's final days with her answer to a Spanish-speaking questioner who said he wanted to help her campaign but lacked voting papers. She responded, "Everybody can help. You can all help. You don't need papers for voting, you don't need to be a registered voter to help."

Bilbray accused Busby of encouraging possible illegal immigrants to volunteer for the campaign.

Busby said repeatedly that she misspoke. She said she had been trying to encourage underage high school students or people who were not registered _ but are in the country legally _ to participate in the political process.