Fed up, Lutz ends hunger strike

Politico (2010-08-23) Kasie Hunt

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More Info: CA 50 Congressional District

Fed up, Lutz ends hunger strike

By Kasie Hunt

After 11 days on a hunger strike, California Democratic congressional candidate Ray Lutz is throwing in the napkin.

He’s breaking the nearly two-week fast — begun Aug. 12 in an attempt to get his opponent, Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, to agree to a series of debates — Monday afternoon at Pat & Oscar’s restaurant at the Parkway Plaza Mall in El Cajon, Calif.

Lutz, who is also celebrating his 53rd birthday, will start slowly, with salad and breadsticks. He started easing back into a normal routine on Saturday, drinking fruit juice and vegetable broth and eating some boiled vegetables.

Hunter’s opponents had initially hoped the strike would yield a series of debates beginning later this month. Hunter agreed to hold a debate Oct. 15, though his campaign has maintained it was planning that all along.

“I think we should call that a victory. Without the hunger strike, I doubt we would even have this single debate, late as it is,” Lutz said.

Joining Lutz in his hunger strike was libertarian candidate Mike Benoit, who also broke his fast Monday after Lutz called him to say he’d begun eating again.

Both candidates confronted Hunter at a local event on Friday evening, where supporters waved signs that read “Hungry for debate.” Lutz and Benoit wore TV microphones and brought along cameras from the local ABC affiliate, capturing the heated discussion they had with Hunter.

“I think even Jesus Christ fasted. Was he a kook?” Lutz said when a reporter asked whether voters would think he was a “kook” for using a hunger strike as a campaign tactic.

The San Diego-area 52nd District is heavily Republican, and Hunter is expected to win the November election easily. Hunter is serving his first term after replacing his father, former Rep. Duncan Hunter, who retired in 2008.