(Dec. 6, 2003) -- Former Congressman Robert K. "B-1" Bob Dornan has filed papers to challenge a fellow Republican -- Congressman Dana Rohrabacher -- for the House seat encompassing Belmont Shore, Los Altos and the Ports of Long Beach & L.A. and hugging the coast from Palos Verdes to Huntington Beach.

The Orange County Registrar-Recorder's web site indicates that on Dec. 5, Mr. Dornan filed a declaration of candidacy and nominating signatures (which must now be confirmed).

Dornan represented central Orange County in Congress for twelve years...until Democrat Loretta Sanchez, backed by then-President Clinton, scored an upset victory over Dornan in Nov. 1996.

Dornan and Rohrabacher are both conservative Republicans. Incumbent Rohrabacher, elected to Congress in 1988, was a speech writer in the Reagan White House after working as an O.C. Register editorial writer. Dornan, nicknamed "B-1" Bob for his support of the B-1 bomber and other defense programs, hosted L.A. TV and radio talk shows in the 60s and 70s before winning a West L.A./Santa Monica Congressional seat in 1976. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1982, then won election 1984 to a central OC district.

In 1996, Dornan launched a presidential bid...which some believe left him vulnerable while novice Sanchez campaigned hard in the district.

Mr. Dornan remains a frequent presence on TV and radio talk shows.

Dornan and Rohrabacher will face off in a March 2004 Republican primary...with the winner facing a Democrat opponent in November 2004. The district encompasses roughly 20% of LB.

Roughly 80% of LB is represented by Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, a Democrat whose district stretches north toward Carson.