Will a Representative’s Views on Russia Affect His Re-election Campaign?

To understand the kind of re-election battle that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is facing, take a look at a billboard overlooking Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa. Larger-than-life images of Rohrabacher and President Donald Trump face a quote attributed to Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader: “There are two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump.”

Rohrabacher’s relationship with Russia is again under scrutiny. Tuesday, he said that he had met with Maria Butina, who was indicted on charges of conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent, on a 2015 trip to Russia. But Rohrabacher dismissed the charges against her as “bogus.”

And a day earlier, he gave the most enthusiastic defense of the president’s remarks in Helsinki.

Rohrabacher’s close ties to Russia have provoked criticism from politicians even in his own party. And Democrats hope his support for the Kremlin will help lead to his defeat this November. But it is unclear whether that support will become a central issue in the campaign. Several voters in the district said they saw the outrage as a side issue propped up by Democrats.

“He’s a good man who shares our values,” said Sandra Leach, 77, a Laguna Beach resident. “I don’t follow every twist and turn in this hunt, but I think it’s a bunch of politics driving it. We can’t become a socialist country with open borders.”

Barry Lowe, 73, a retired aerospace manager, is volunteering for the Democratic challenger, Harley Rouda.

But Russia, he said, is the least of it.

“It’s time to get some liberals representing this area. It’s not the conservative wealthy place it once was,” Lowe said. “I don’t think Putin is a big factor. It’s part of a long list of things he does wrong. It’s simply that people here are split between the parties.”

There are signs that Rouda is benefiting from the scrutiny: A spokesman for the campaign said Tuesday afternoon that they had already raised more money than in any other week in the campaign. A poll from Monmouth University released Tuesday showed that the race was effectively a dead heat.