Republican blasts 'unethical tricks from the swamp' as Dems send him money

[Ulquiorra]

A little-known Republican congressional candidate in Southern California has received $137,000 in campaign donations from Democrats from across the U.S. ahead of Tuesday's primary.

But John Gabbard -- a small business owner and Marine Corps veteran -- rejected the Democrats' help Friday, accusing the party of “bringing its classic unethical tricks from the swamp in Washington to the shores of Orange County.” 

The Dems' backing of the GOP's Gabbard in California's 48th Congressional District seems to be part of an unorthodox strategy --- not to help Gabbard, but to ultimately help the Dems get one of their own candidates to emerge from Tuesday's primary and appear on the November ballot.

It's part of some $5.4 million that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent on congressional races in Orange County in recent weeks, the Orange County Register reported.

Under California primary rules, the top two vote-getters Tuesday, regardless of party, will face each other in November. So if two Republicans top the field, the Democrats would be shut out of the general election.

That GOP shutout is likely to happen in the 48th District, because two of the candidates are well-known former Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh and incumbent U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, the Register reported.