Nick Leibham is the Democratic Party candidate for the United States House of Representatives in . He is running for a seat presently occupied by incumbent and former lobbyist, Brian Bilbray.
Early life Leibham was born and grew up in Oregon. He graduated cum laude from Chaminade University of Honolulu with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in History and Political Science. Leibham later attended the University of San Diego, obtaining a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) and, jointly, a Master of Business Administration (MBA] degree.
Leibham resides with his fiancée in the seaside community of Encinitas.
Career Following his undergraduate work, Leibham accepted a job as a high school civics teacher and subsequently served as a legislative aide to Congressman Gary Ackerman of New York. After law school, he clerked for the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of California in the major frauds and economic crimes section. Most recently, Leibham served as a criminal prosecutor in the office of the City Attorney ofSan Diego.
2008 Primary election Leibham became the Democratic Party's congressional nominee for the district when he defeated school psychologist Cheryl Ede in a primary election held on June 3, 2008. Leibham won the election with 57.67% of the vote .
General election campaign Bilbray's incumbency advantage and the Republicans' edge in voter registration in the district led the Cook Political Report to rank the race as "likely Republican." However, other metrics suggested that the political climate had changed since Bilbray's 10 point victory over Democrat Francine Busby in the 2006 midterm election.
Democratic voter registration in the district had grown, from 29.6% to 30.8% percent, while Republican registration declined from 43.6% to 42.1% . Additionally, a poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research found that, once respondents heard about Leibham's positives, the race narrowed to within a 3 point margin, 49% to 46% .
On June 18, 2008 the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the congressional contest in the 50th to its list of "emerging races," a waiting list for the DCCC's Red to Blue program .
Shortly thereafter, on June 30, the DCCC included Bilbray in a radio advertisement buy targeting 13 Republican incumbents and featuring a George W. Bush impersonator thanking them for "continuing to support the Big Oil Energy Agenda" .
Alternative energy and gasoline prices came to the fore of the campaign's discourse with voters. On July 30, Leibham staged a "pain at the pump tour" in which he offered discounted gas to a limited number of constituents
In August, Leibham challenged Bilbray to a series of five debates in the town hall format to be moderated by local non-partisan organizations. Bilbray agreed to participate remotely, by telephone or video link, from Washington D.C. . In response, the Leibham campaign organized a stunt that involved a volunteer bedecked in a chicken suit delivering a challenge to appear in person to Bilbray's district office in Solana Beach .