House money going to Dems
FEC report: Republicans outraised in 10 most competitive GOP-held districts in state
Democratic candidates running for Congress in California continued to rake in eye-popping sums of money over the last three months, eclipsing Republican incumbents and propelling hardfought contests that may determine which party controls the House of Representatives.
In all 10 of the state’s most competitive GOPheld districts, from the Central Valley to the Southern California suburbs, Democrats outraised Republicans — in some cases taking in more than five times the GOP candidate’s haul, the latest Federal Election Commission reports filed this week show.
And in half of those races, Democrats also had more in the bank as of the end of September, putting them in a strong position for the final campaign sprint. Democrats need to gain 23 seats nationwide to control the House.
Altogether, the Democrats in the 10 California races raised almost $28.4 million from July through the end of September — enough to buy a new Tesla Model S for each day of the year. Republican candidates took in just $8.3 million
over the same time period, but GOP-backed outside groups have been pumping money into the districts to make up for some of the difference.
It’s a remarkable advantage considering that incumbents typically outpace challengers in fundraising — and that nearly all of the state’s Democratic challengers are running for office for the first time.
“They’ve been able to tap into this enthusiasm and anger about what’s going on in this country,” said Doug Herman, a Democratic strategist who isn’t working for any of the campaigns. “People are desperate to voice their opposition to Trump policies, and this is their first real opportunity to do so.”
It’s a similar picture nationally: The national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said that Democratic challengers outraised Republicans in 110 seats, with more than 60 Democrats raising more than $1 million each.
Some of the standouts in competitive GOP-held races included a $4.4 million haul for Rhodes Scholar Antonio Delgado in New York and $3.7 million for former fighter pilot Amy McGrath in Kentucky. On the Senate side, the liberal Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke raised a startling $38 million in three months, more than any Senate candidate in history and triple the amount raised by Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz.
Democrats from across the country also are pouring money into California races. In the Modesto-area 10th District, former venture capital investor Josh Harder racked up $3.5 million — more in three months than any other candidate had previously raised over an entire twoyear election cycle in the history of the district. Republican incumbent Jeff Denham took in just under $651,000, although he ended the quarter with more in the bank than Harder.
In the 25th District in northern Los Angeles County, nonprofit executive Katie Hill reported taking in more than $3.8 million, compared with about $455,000 for her Republican opponent, Rep. Steve Knight. She also had more than five times as much cash on hand as Knight.
And in the heavily Republican 50th District, which covers parts of the San Diego suburbs, former Obama administration staffer Ammar Campa-Najjar raised $1.4 million — more than 10 times the haul of his opponent, Rep. Duncan Hunter, who has been indicted for misuse of campaign funds. Campa-Najjar ended September with almost $685,000 in the bank, more than double Hunter’s war chest.
Outgunned GOP candidates
have relied on outside groups to prop them up with TV ads in recent weeks. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has dropped millions on acerbic attack ads and door-to-door canvassing in many of the most
competitive districts.
But candidates for office receive a cheaper rate for TV ads than political committees, which will help the Democrats’ funds stretch further in the expensive Los Angeles media market.
Some Republicans argued that ads already had saturated the airwaves in
the competitive districts so heavily that throwing more money at the races wouldn’t have much of an impact.
“The Democrats’ marginal fundraising advantage is insignificant because of the tremendous amount of advertising on both sides,” said Joe Justin, a GOP strategist in Sacramento.
Several candidates on both sides spent heavily over the last three months and ended September without much left in the bank. Gil Cisneros, a Navy veteran and lottery winner running in a district that spans Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, had just over $282,000 cash on hand as of late September, less than the $340,000 reported by his GOP opponent, former Assemblywoman Young Kim. Cisneros loaned his campaign $3.5 million over the course of the quarter.
In a silver lining for the GOP, two Republican challengers taking on Democratic incumbents also raked in more than their opponents. Former congressional staffer Elizabeth Heng outraised Rep. Jim Costa in the Central Valley, and rancher Justin Fareed outraised Rep. Salud Carbajal along the Central Coast, although both incumbents still have considerably larger cash reserves. Neither race is expected to be as competitive as those in GOP-held seats.
Overall, Herman said, Democrats are optimistic. “Traditionally we’ve been at a huge disadvantage” in fundraising, he said. “The anger and enthusiasm that Trump has created has allowed the Democratic Party to equalize the playing field.”