Brandon Reiser
Voters in California’s 48th congressional district are dissatisfied with the political status quo, and their split loyalties provide an opportunity for Brandon Reiser, a 2018 Libertarian Party candidate for the 48th U.S. House seat long held by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. A recent Orange County Register article explained Reiser’s strategy:
Brandon Reiser may be an underfunded third-party candidate vying for attention among nine challengers to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, but the 32-year-old displays no hesitation in explaining his path to becoming the first bona fide Libertarian Party member to win a House seat.
The seven Democrats are going to split the ballots cast by Democrats, while he vies for votes of independent voters — a quarter of the district’s electorate. He also thinks he’ll pick up Republicans dissatisfied with the unorthodox GOP incumbent, who has made headlines for meetings with Russians and with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Because there are so many challengers, Reiser figures 15 percent of the vote next June will be enough to advance out of the top-two primary.
“If we get into the general election, I like our chances — Democrats aren’t going to vote for a Republican,” the Corona del Mar resident said. Republicans account for 41 percent of the district and Democrats, 30 percent. But with Hillary Clinton eking out a victory in the coastal district last year, many believe Rohrabacher is vulnerable.
“I’ve talked to so many people who are in the same boat as me — they want somebody who is better than the Republican Party, who is better than the Democratic Party,” Reiser said.
