These are not mild allegations and it's going to take a lot of energy to fight them, and so I would not be surprised if he decides he can't serve in Congress at the same time. Richard Alarcon More Quotes by Richard Alarcon More Quotes From Richard Alarcon If he is battling this issue in court while the election is going on through November, the Democrats could lose the seat, and so there's a lot of consternation about how to preserve the Democratic seat on the political side. On the court side, let the court do what it's going to do. But in the court of public opinion, it doesn't look very good for Congressman Cardenas. Richard Alarcon politics