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“In Congress, Representative Katie Porter has been a trailblazer – holding corporations accountable and protecting American consumers. She is a proven fighter for Orange County families and her record of accountability strongly contrasts with Republican Scott Baugh’s criminal record. Scott Baugh is a corrupt career politician who has the felony charges to prove that when he is supposed to be looking out for Orange County, he’s only looking out for himself. That’s why Orange County voters will reject Baugh and send Katie Porter back to Congress this November.” – DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney
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To: Interested Parties
From: Maddy Mundy, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 8th, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Scott Baugh
From the suburbs of Orange County, Representative Katie Porter has risen as a national champion for taxpayers. Rep. Porter made a name for herself by taking on waste and corruption – whether from corporations or government itself.
As a UC Irvine law professor and consumer protection attorney, Katie Porter took on Wall Street during the financial crisis and fought to help Californians keep their homes. In her three years in Congress, she has worked with Republicans and Democrats to get results for Orange County families. She’s been called “Congress’ toughest questioner” and a “watchdog” looking out for OC taxpayers. Time and again, Porter has stood up to leaders of both parties to do what’s right.
Her record of accountability sharply contrasts with her Republican opponent Scott Baugh, who is running on a tax-raising record with significant personal baggage. Throughout his long, spotted career, Baugh has racked up multiple criminal charges for corruption and fraud.
Baugh has been embroiled in scandal after scandal and dragged Orange County voters through the mud with him, changing voters’ party registration without their consent. At a time when families are struggling, Orange County needs a champion in Congress – not another corrupt politician. Scott Baugh has been trying to turn Orange County into a swamp for the last three decades. Now he’s asking Orange County voters to send him to be another rubber stamp on the GOP’s tax-raising agenda. Orange County voters know Scott Baugh will leave them footing the bill, and that’s why they’ll send Katie Porter – the people’s watchdog – back to Congress this November.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
OC Register: Elections 2022: Get to know Rep. Katie Porter, four more candidates in 47th District race [April 21, 2022]
“Baugh declined to answer a yes/no question on whether they acknowledge Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election”
“Baugh also all declined to say how [he’d] vote if the question of the legality of gay marriage were to ever come before Congress.”
Voice of OC: Could This Be the New Face of Orange County’s Republican Party? [January 16, 2011]
“Whitacre, a real estate broker and former Marine who says he’s felt the brutal side of the bailout economy, connects the Wall Street fiasco of recent years to people like Baugh and Carona at the local level. And he said the tide of Republicans leaving the party in recent years to become independents is happening because they see their party controlled by corporate insiders.”
Los Angeles Times: Baugh Indicted on Felony Charges in Campaign Ploy [March 23, 1996]
“In a case that cuts to the heart of California’s GOP leadership, a grand jury on Friday indicted state Assemblyman Scott Baugh, the Orange County Republican whose tainted election victory allowed the party to seize control of the Legislature’s lower house.”
Los Angeles Times: Baugh’s Dirty Political Path to Power [January 28, 1996]
“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!”
“If he is the ‘bright young attorney’ for the railroad (as he was initially described) then why was he not bright enough to be able to comply with Fair Political Practices Commission regulations and why did he lie about the $1,000 cash contribution from Kendrick Campbell, the husband of Laurie Campbell, the “spoiler” who was punched into the recall race and with whom he had worked for years and later admitted he knew well?”
SCOTT BAUGH HAS ALWAYS LOOKED OUT FOR HIS POLITICAL CAREER, NO MATTER THE COST TO OC FAMILIES
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 federal charges for manipulating the results of an election. In 1996, Scott Baugh faced more than 20 criminal charges, including four felony charges, for violating campaign finance laws and perjury. Baugh admitted to committing nine violations of the California Political Reform Act and paid a $47,900 fine.
Baugh has carried his corrupt ways to the present, most recently personally benefiting from pandemic aid. Organizations that Baugh is associated with, including three that were dissolved, took nearly $2 million in federal pandemic relief.
SCOTT BAUGH WOULD BE A VOTE FOR TAX RAISES AND ACA REPEAL IN CONGRESS
Scott Baugh’s record of corruption is only outdone by his toxic agenda. While Porter has led the charge to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable and cap the price of prescription drugs, Baugh stated he supported repealing the Affordable Care Act, a move projected to cause 52,300 Orange County residents to lose their health insurance and weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
We know more tax hikes are on the table if Republicans retake majorities in the House and Senate this year. Republicans in Washington have made clear that they plan to raise taxes on millions of Social Security recipients and low-income Americans and sunset programs like Social Security and Medicare, threatening benefits to Orange County seniors that depend on those programs. Baugh’s record proves he would be a rubber stamp on Republicans’ tax-raising, health care-slashing agenda.
SCOTT BAUGH IS TOO RADICAL FOR THIS SUBURBAN DISTRICT
Scott Baugh is not only coming after Orange County families’ pocketbooks, he wants to void their votes. Baugh is a founding chairman of an organization that attempted to disenfranchise Californians and spread voting disinformation.
It should come as no surprise that the man who founded an organization to spread voter disinformation also pushed election integrity conspiracy in the wake of the 2020 presidential election by refusing to admit Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election.
Baugh is also misaligned with California’s 47th district on key social positions like abortion and gay marriage. Baugh has stated he opposes abortion rights. With the Supreme Court set to overturn Roe v. Wade this June and Republicans frothing at the mouth to install a nationwide abortion ban if they retake majorities in Congress, the stakes have never been higher for Orange County voters to send a champion of choice to Congress.
A recent California statewide poll reveals Roe v. Wade is supported by Democrats, independents and Republicans, while experts predict reproductive rights will be a mobilizing factor among California swing voters this November.
Furthermore, as recently as last month, Baugh refused to commit to protecting additional established protections for the LGBTQ community. The Supreme Court’s expected overturn of Roe has sparked fears that the legal foundation for LGBTQ rights are now in peril as well. Baugh’s hateful, MAGA agenda won’t sit well with this suburban district.
PATH TO VICTORY
In California’s 47th Congressional District, Democrats hold a registration advantage over Republicans and the district continues to trend away from Republicans and towards Democrats. Since 2014 Republicans have lost 8 points in their registration share while Democrats have picked up 7 points. This district is 25% AAPI and 16% Hispanic. It is one of the most college-educated districts in the state with 56% of residents holding a college degree.
Katie Porter knows how to appeal to these voters. She is a battle-tested Democrat who historically flipped her Orange County district in 2018. While California’s 47th district became slightly more competitive in redistricting, Katie Porter maintains a strong advantage thanks to her record as a bipartisan watchdog, as well as her near unrivaled capacity to communicate early, robustly, and in multiple languages.
In the face of Porter’s formidable campaign operation and proven record of holding bad actors accountable, Scott Baugh won’t be able to hide his shady, criminal past and his dangerous agenda. |
