SAN DIEGO -- A decorated Marine veteran who was famously photographed smoking a cigar after the fall of Baghdad announced Tuesday that he is running for Congress in California's most southern district.
Nick Popaditch, 42, said he will seek the Republican nomination to unseat Democrat Bob Filner on a campaign that promotes limited government, a strong national defense and secure borders.
Known as "Gunny Pop," Popaditch was awarded the Silver Star for combat actions in Fallujah, where he was blinded in one eye by a rocket-propelled grenade to the head.
That April 2004 attack came nearly a year after an Associated Press photographer captured a smiling Popaditch smoking a cigar, with the just-fallen statue of Saddam Hussein in the background. The photograph landed on newspaper front pages, garnering Popaditch worldwide attention.
Popaditch was a tank commander during the Persian Gulf War, was honorably discharged in 1992 and rejoined the Marines in 1995. He took medical retirement after his injury in Fallujah.
"Irresponsible spending, intrusive regulations, and a growing deficit are crippling our children's future," Popaditch, who announced his bid Tuesday, said on his Web site.
California's heavily Democratic 51st Congressional District stretches along the Mexican border from south San Diego to the Arizona state line. Filner, who was first elected in 1992, was re-elected last year with 73 percent of the vote.
Carl Luna, a political science professor at San Diego's Mesa College, predicted Popaditch's appeal for strong borders will not sit well with the district's large Hispanic population.
"It's a nice exercise, but he doesn't have a chance (against Filner)," Luna said.
Filner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.