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Decorated Marine announces run for Congress

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.