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“Orange County families already rejected Scott Baugh for being dangerously extreme and out of touch, and he’s only gotten worse since then. A corrupt career politician, Baugh has a history of putting his own interests and corporate donors over the needs of working Orange County residents, and has faced 20 criminal charges – four of them felonies – for breaking campaign finance laws. That’s just one of the many reasons voters will once again reject Baugh’s extremism in 2024 – and instead send long-time Orange County champion, law professor, legislator, and pro-choice advocate Dave Min to Congress this November,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Dan Gottlieb
Date: March 7, 2024
Subject: The Case Against Scott Baugh
After being rejected by the voters of California’s 47th Congressional District in 2022, Scott Baugh is back again – and he’s still dangerously extreme and out-of-touch for Orange County.
A career politician and alleged election manipulator, Baugh has spent years only looking out for himself and under the thumb of extremist donors and special interests instead of delivering for Southern California families. If elected to Congress, he’s already made it clear that he’d support banning abortion nationwide without exceptions, even in cases of rape, incest, or danger to a woman’s life, and would not protect same-sex marriage. Instead, Baugh has committed to being another culture war conspirator in Washington D.C. and he’s already gotten off to a head start – incoherently stating the “war on wokeness” was more dangerous than 9/11 and World War II. We can’t trust right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists like Scott Baugh to make our laws.
Fortunately, California’s 47th Congressional District has a better choice in Dave Min – long-time Orange County champion, first-generation Korean American, former business law professor, legislator, and pro-choice advocate – who genuinely understands the problems Southern California families are facing and has put in the work to bring about better solutions. During the financial crisis, Min fought to hold Wall Street accountable and to help stabilize our economy. During his time in the State Senate – where he represented 80% of CA-47 – Min shepherded 28 bills into law, including legislation enshrining abortion rights in the California Constitution, expanding protections for domestic violence survivors, banning gun sales on state property, and addressing the causes of our climate crisis.
With so much on the line, Min is ready to bring that career-long fight for Orange County families to the halls of Congress. In Congress, Dave Min will defend reproductive freedom nationwide, crack down on corporate price gouging, fight to lower health care costs, and always put Orange County taxpayers first. The residents of this district rejected corrupt, far-right politician Scott Baugh the last time he tried to fool them. This November, they’ll slam the door shut on his divisive, destructive, and dysfunctional brand of politics.
BAUGH HAS ALWAYS LOOKED OUT FOR HIS POLITICAL CAREER, NO MATTER THE COST TO ORANGE COUNTY FAMILIES
Scott Baugh has been embroiled in scandal after scandal and dragged Orange County voters through the mud with him. While Scott Baugh was Chair of the Orange County Republican Party, as many as 600 Orange County residents had their voter registration changed to Republican without their consent. The scandal led to 12 arrests.
Baugh was also indicted on several criminal charges related to a shady scheme to manipulate his own election results. In 1996, Scott Baugh faced more than 20 criminal charges, including four felony charges, for violating campaign finance laws and persuading another person to commit perjury. Baugh admitted to committing nine violations of the California Political Reform Act and was forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
To make matters worse, he’s made clear that he wants to void Orange County’s votes if he does not like who they support. Baugh is a founding chairman of an organization that attempted to disenfranchise Californians and spread voting disinformation…even before the 2020 election. At a time when families are struggling, Orange County needs a champion in Congress – not another corrupt politician.
BAUGH IS DANGEROUSLY EXTREME, ANTI-CHOICE, AND OUT-OF-TOUCH FOR SUBURBAN ORANGE COUNTY
Scott Baugh‘s legacy of corruption and criminal election manipulation is only outdone by his dangerous agenda for California’s 47th district. Baugh has stated that he openly opposes reproductive freedoms and abortion rights and, in his last failed run for office, he even refused to codify protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
Baugh has also openly advocated for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which would result in over a million Californians losing their health insurance coverage and eliminate federal protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions. Baugh’s hateful, out-of-touch agenda won’t sit well with this suburban district.
BAUGH PUTS FAR-RIGHT CONSPIRACY THEORIES OVER FINDING SOLUTIONS TO HELP FAMILIES GET AHEAD
There’s a reason Scott Baugh is a favorite of far-right GOP Speaker Mike Johnson – he’d help peddle his extreme agenda in Congress. Like Speaker Johnson, Baugh is closely tied with religious extremists; his campaigns have been repeatedly funded by dangerous anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ donors.
Baugh has also made a name for himself by peddling dangerous conspiracy theories – going as far as to claim that the “War on Wokeism” was more dangerous than both 9/11 and WWII.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Los Angeles Times: Endorsement: Dave Min should replace Katie Porter in the 47th Congressional District. [Los Angeles Times, 1/15/24]
HuffPost: California Republican Scott Baugh: ‘Wokism’ More Threatening Than WWII, 9/11. [HuffPost, 9/5/23]
“Scott Baugh, a Republican attorney hoping to flip a Democratic-held U.S. House seat in Orange County, California, said that “wokism” is more threatening to the country than the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, both world wars and the Civil War. Baugh, a former GOP leader in the California State Assembly, made the remarks while speaking in October to the International Christian Ambassadors Association, an ecumenical Christian nonprofit. “What’s the greatest threat to religious freedom? We were born in the Revolutionary War. We survived civil wars, World War II, World War I, a lot of wars, 9/11,” Baugh said in a video posted to YouTube in June. “None of those were that threatening to our country compared to the war that we’re fighting now. That war is about wokism and the lack of common sense.”
Orange County Register: “When asked Wednesday about the [State] GOP proposal [to suspend California’s gas tax for six months], State Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, signaled he’s open to the idea. Min…said he’s also tired of the ‘sky-high’ cost of living in California. ‘Any legislation that helps ease the burden on taxpayers should be on the table and will have my full consideration,’ Min said. ‘During a year of record budget surpluses, the state should be returning tax dollars back to Californians.’” [Orange County Register, 3/2/22]
San Francisco Chronicle: “To stress his moderate support, Min emphasized his endorsement from law enforcement groups like the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs and the Peace Officers Research Association of California, which represents 950 public safety unions.” [San Francisco Chronicle, 11/26/23]
Orange County Register: “Of the five state senators who represent portions of Orange County, Sen. Dave Min authored the highest ratio of bills that became law this year, when local senators combined passed a total of 33 bills. Min also had the best attendance for key votes in the final month of the session, and he held the most town halls. […] Eight of his bills were signed into law, including…one that will require courts to consider a parent’s history of violence and substance abuse before allowing them to have unsupervised visits with their children. […] In the wake of the Dec. 1 oil spill off Huntington Beach, Min was the first legislator to call for a total ban on offshore drilling in California. [Orange County Register, 12/20/21]
American Journal News: GOP US House candidate Scott Baugh bankrolled by right-wing advocate for biblical law. [American Journal News, 10/16/23]
“Republican former California Assembly Member Scott Baugh, who lost a 2022 congressional race to Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, is running for her open House seat in 2024. Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson Jr., a right-wing megadonor and longtime advocate for strict biblical law, has been a top donor throughout Baugh’s political career.”
Los Angeles Times: Baugh Indicted on Felony Charges in Campaign Ploy. [Los Angeles Times, 3/23/96]
Los Angeles Times: Baugh’s Dirty Political Path to Power. [Los Angeles Times, 1/28/96]
“As one of those ‘die-hard’ Republicans, it is difficult for me to express my disgust at the fraud and deceit that was necessary to ensure Scott Baugh was elected.”
“As far as I and many others are concerned, he is either a liar and a cheat or an ill-versed ‘puppet’ whose actions are dictated by the big-money ‘king-makers’ who have chosen to control the future of not only Orange County residents but loyal, law-abiding citizens of California as well!”
PATH TO VICTORY
In California’s 47th Congressional District, Democrats hold a voter registration advantage that continues to trend away from Republicans – with Democratic registration shares increasing 4.5 points since 2016, and Republican shares falling nearly 4 points in that same period. This district is also approximately 11% Hispanic and 20% AANHPI – including an active Korean community – and is one of the most formally educated districts in the country, with over half of residents holding a college degree.
Dave Min has proven that he knows how to appeal to these voters, and Baugh has proven time and time again he does not. Elected in 2020, Min, a former business law professor at UC Irvine, unseated longtime Orange County Republican stalwart John Moorlach to represent the more than 1.1 million residents of California’s 37th Senate District. SD-37 includes more than 80% of the 47th Congressional District that Min is running to represent – including the cities of Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, and Newport Beach. Min won this area by more than 4% in 2020, showing he can win this highly contested Congressional District.
In this Democratic-leaning district, Min maintains a strong advantage thanks to his record as a bipartisan problem-solver, his history of electoral success within this same district, and his ability to overperform with his Democratic base.
In the face of Min’s formidable campaign operation, a broad coalition of electoral support within the 47th District – including nearly every single law enforcement union in California – and a long-time record of holding bad actors accountable, Scott Baugh won’t be able to hide his shady, criminal past and his dangerous agenda.
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