Early figures show Garcia ahead in finances
Ahead of the filing deadline next week, readily available federal data showed Wednesday that newly elected Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, is the lead fundraiser against Assemblywoman Christy Smith, D-Santa Clarita, for the second quarter of 2020 before their face-off in November for the 25th Congressional District race.
Books closed on June 30, and committees have until July 15 to submit their latest tallies, but as of Wednesday, the Federal Election Commission showed that between April 23 and June 1, Garcia had raised more than $1.55 million, while $960,300 was raised by Smith.
While numbers were still being finalized, Garcia’s committee said Wednesday they had raised $2.52 million for the entirety of the second quarter from April 1 through June 30, with $548,000 raised just last month and a cash-in-hand total of $723,364.
“Mike is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support he’s received from the people of the 25th Congressional District,” Garcia spokesman Lance Trover said in a prepared statement about the campaign trail for Garcia, who joined the House in May after winning a special election. “Since taking office in June, Mike has taken his experience as a former Navy fighter pilot and small businessman to Washington, where he’s voted for more small business support, pushed for lower taxes and stood against calls to defund our police while cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to increase transparency in policing and training for officers.”
Smith’s committee announced in a news release that it had raised more than $1.5 million for the same period, including more than $314,000 since the May special election, and her cash-on-hand total surpassed $400,000.
“I am extremely grateful for the widespread support for our campaign, as we fight to send representation to Congress that reflects our community’s values,” said Smith in a prepared statement. “In this time of financial distress, I am deeply humbled by hard-working people chipping in to support our grassroots, peoplepowered movement. Together, we’ll fight for access to affordable health care, greater investments in public education, critical infrastructure improvements and protections for working families.”
FEC numbers Wednesday, which had not yet reflected the complete second-quarter tallies, showed Garcia’s reported expenditures at $1.53 million, which brought his overall total to $3.75 million from the start of the year to June 1. The congressman’s cash-on-hand tally reached $312,000 and nearly $330,000 in debt owed by the committee.
Under Smith’s campaign, reported expenditures reached $1.02 million, for a total of $3.15 million for the same period. She had a cash-on-hand total of $244,700 and a debt of nearly $10,000.
In the May special election to replace former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned last fall, Garcia flipped the blue 25th District seat back to red. Garcia and Smith will look to fill the House seat in November for the new two-year term.