California’s 36th district special election now has a real Hollywood feel to it.
Beyond actor Ed Begley Jr.’s unpublicized dual endorsement of both Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (D) and Secretary of State Debra Bowen (D), actor Sean Astin has taken it a step further, becoming campaign manager for Dan Adler (D), a former vice president at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Astin, known for starring roles in “The Lord of the Rings,” “Rudy,” “Encino Man” and, of course, “The Goonies,” is the son of actress Patty Duke. Both make cameos in Web videos that Adler said Wednesday in an interview with Roll Call have helped him quickly spread the word of his campaign after just five weeks in the race.
“We’ve gotten more done in a five-week campaign than usually gets done in a yearlong campaign,” Adler said. “We’re running a very aggressive television campaign with a bunch of viral stuff behind it.” Already, the Astin ad has been played on national cable television.
He has a few more TV ads set to air before Tuesday, when voters head to the polls for the all-party primary. Unless someone receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a July 12 runoff.
Adler reported raising $110,000 through April 27, but he said he has eclipsed $200,000 since then. He has raised more than $125,000 with Democratic online fundraising source ActBlue alone, more than anyone other than Bowen.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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