Scandal-plagued Condit falls to ex-aide

LOS ANGELES, March 5 (UPI) -- Congressman Gary Condit was done in by the Chandra Levy scandal Tuesday night as he finished second for the first time in his life behind a former aide and protégé in a race for the Democratic nomination in his congressional district.

Condit captured 37.1 percent of the vote as he reached for a seventh term representing the agricultural district located in the northern reaches of the San Joaquin Valley. Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza won the nomination with 55.9 percent of the vote and 86.7 percent of the votes counted.

For Condit, it was the bitter end of a career that had seen him as virtually invincible until last spring when he was linked to Levy, 24, a Modesto woman who vanished from Washington a few days after her college internship in the capital ended.

Until Tuesday, Condit was undefeated in elections stretching back to his days on the Ceres City Council. He met with reporters in defeat outside his home.

"I want to thank the people of the 18th Congressional District for giving me this opportunity to be in public service and represent them in Washington," said Condit, who was dressed casually in a sweater and appeared at ease. "I'll never forget it, and I am going to work hard for the remaining time that I have there and do everything I can do to make the valley a better place to be."

The Modesto-area Democrat and his wife, Carolyn, cast their ballots early Tuesday in their hometown of Ceres and began a vigil to see if he would be able to win the Democratic nomination, which a year ago would have been something of a slam dunk.

Condit, 53, had sought to hang on to the congressional seat he has held since 1989. However, the luster of his image in an area often called "Condit Country" was deeply tarnished by his reputed romantic involvement with Levy. Condit is not a suspect in her disappearance although Levy's parents have accused him of being less than forthcoming.

The Levy case changed Condit's political paradigm as it mushroomed into a lurid national story that captured the attention of major news organizations and supermarket tabloids alike. Condit last fall found himself the underdog in a race he did not file for until the final deadline.

"If it ever happens to you, you'll learn who your friends are," Condit scolded reporters at a recent campaign appearance in Merced.

Condit campaigned on a message that news accounts of his alleged affair with Levy are largely skewed and often inaccurate, that he had served his rural district well and that he deserved a new term.

"I have a proven record and I'm a fighter for the valley," he said.

Condit has insisted that he and Levy were just friends. He has refused to publicly discuss their relationship in detail because he sees it as a personal matter that he stubbornly insists should not be splashed around in the media.

Washington police have stated that Condit is not a suspect and Levy's disappearance has not been officially listed as foul play.

Carolyn Condit has sued the National Enquirer over a story that alleged she and Levy had a telephone screaming match after Levy cavalierly answered the phone in Condit's Washington apartment.

Cardoza was nearly lost in the media's scramble to cover Condit's final campaign, but he told his supporters Tuesday night that the election's focus was now changed and that he was anxious to provide the kinds of opportunities that drew his Portuguese immigrant grandparents to the Central Valley.

"That's what this election is really about," Cardoza said. "Tomorrow, the sensational prologue is over and the real campaign begins in earnest."