Be Pro-Facts, Please
- Share via
As an ardently pro-life Republican, I feel disenfranchised by the results of the election in the 76th Assembly District on Aug. 8 and angered by the news coverage of the election (“Pro-Choice Forces Take Credit for Victory in 76th,” Aug. 10). I voted for candidate Dennis Koolhaas because he was an excellent, experienced candidate and pro-life.
He and the other pro-life Republicans captured 57.8% of the vote, yet the news media continue to report the victory of Tricia Hunter as a pro-choice victory. True, two pro-choice candidates won, but if this election is to be treated as a referendum on the abortion issue, why do the Los Angeles Times and other news media ignore their own statistics, which show 57.8% for pro-life candidates to 40.3% for pro-choice candidates?
The peculiar nature of the race, which allowed crossover voting, further muddies the issue. Republicans in the district are left to choose between two pro-choice candidates, both largely selected by Democratic voters. Democrats urged Democrats to vote for Tricia Hunter. Thus the large majority of Republicans who voted for pro-life candidates are effectively left with no choice in the October election. But at least report the significance of the statistics correctly.
W. ROBERT GODFREY
Escondido
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox twice per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
