Incumbents Win Easy Reelection in Congressional, State Races

Anti-incumbent fever may have spread across the nation in congressional races Tuesday night, but local Altadena representatives managed to easily win reelection.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, beat Tea Party-allied-Republican John Colbert, winning over 65 percent of the vote.  Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas won with about 54.5 percent of the vote to Democratic challenger Russ Warner's 37 percent.

In Altadena's state assembly race, Democrat Anthony Portantino won with over 64 percent of the vote.

Schiff thanked local Democratic voters at his campaign party in Pasadena on Tuesday night, but also acknowledged he'd be working with a very partisan Congress in January.

"We took a good old fashioned drubbing tonight.... I'm going to continue to work across party lines," Schiff said Tuesday night.  "What my constituents really want us to do is get down to the business of getting America back to work again."

-Dan Abendschein, Dave Fonseca

26th Congressional District

Dreier didn't bother with a victory party Tuesday evening.  remained confident that he'd win again throughout the campaign. At 9:32 p.m., with only 17 percent of precincts reporting and the incumbent leading by double-digits, Dreier's campaign released its victory statements by email.

"It's a privilege to represent our communities in Congress, and I thank the voters for their support," Dreier said in the statement. "Now, it's time to get Californians back to work."

The 30-year veteran of the House of Representatives will now likely return to his former post as chairman of the Rules Committee, considered one of the most powerful committees in the House.

And Dreier's top priority will be reducing the role of government, he said.

"Restoring our economy and our job market by reining in the federal government's excesses is my top priority," Dreier's statement reads. "Congress must learn to follow the example of hard-working families who have had to tighten their belts and live within their means."

Even before the final results were in, Dreier's opponent, local businessman Russ Warner seemed resigned that the early trends would continue.

"I'm just taking it from it that David Dreier is a brilliant politician who has fooled the people for many years," Warner said.

-Nathan McIntire

44th Assembly District

Portantino credited his victory to local volunteers.

"Everybody did a great job getting the vote out," Portantino said, as the gap between him and Republican candidate Alvaro Day widened Tuesday night.

Day, his 21-year-old challenger, remained optimistic despite his loss. 

"This election is not about me," he said. "It's about the [need for] change and new ideas. And I'm going to keep pushing for them,'' he said, noting he intends to stay around for the "future of good things to come.''

As he prepared for another term, Portantino talked about his plans. "I want to get back to enforcing fiscal responsibility, and fighting for education. Pay as you go is going to be my next big fight and there needs to be a constitutional amendment."

-Sonia Narang, Cassandra Morris, Donna Evans