Baca says he wants back in the game, two months after losing re-election. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Two months after he was ousted from Congress by a fellow Democrat, former California Rep. Joe Baca said he wants back in.
Baca told the Riverside Press-Enterprise he plans to challenge Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod, who defeated him 56 percent to 44 percent in the redrawn 35th District east of Los Angeles.
“If you get knocked down, you’ve got to stand up,” Baca told the newspaper Thursday.
Baca was undone in part by the state’s new top-two primary system, which allowed Negrete McLeod to advance to the general despite finishing second in the first round of balloting June 5. But the seven-term congressman was also hit by a late multimillion dollar ad campaign by Independence USA PAC, a super PAC formed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent.
“Hopefully, this time I run against [Negrete McLeod] and not against the mayor of New York,” Baca told the newspaper.
