Endorsement: Vote for Ami Bera

The race to represent Sacramento in Congress, the District 7 seat, would be a simple choice were it not for the national attention. This once-safe GOP district has grown into a distinct toss-up with the rise of “decline to state” voters and fiscally conservative but socially moderate Republicans, and it’s been represented in the last term by Ami Bera. Although a Democrat, Bera is what we would once have called a moderate Republican—back in the good old days when there was such a thing.

Doug Ose, who once represented a large chunk of this district in Congress, can’t seem to make up his mind what he wants: First, he’s leaving politics—but now, smelling blood in the water and lots of support from national deep-pocket conservative donors, he’s back.

Ose was not a bad representative during his last term, but that’s not enough to recommend him for the job.

Let’s look at the record: Bera has been surprisingly willing to go a different way in Congress. It’s not that he’s a “maverick,” but he does buck the party line and work actively to find bipartisan solutions to legislative problems. That’s the sort of pragmatic, no-labels moderate politics that has a natural home in the 7th District, and we endorse him for re-election.