Lt. governor rivals bringing in cash

Candidates for the office have raised millions, led by state Sen. Ed Hernandez.

SACRAMENTO — California’s 2018 race for lieutenant governor, likely to be lost in the shadow of the governor’s race, could turn out to be a pretty competitive contest.

Money is pouring into the race for multiple candidates, according to a batch of campaign finance reports filed with the secretary of state this week. That’s interesting in part because the current lieutenant governor and gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom once dismissed the job as a “largely ceremonial post ... with no real authority.”

State Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa), the favorite of many establishment California Democrats, leads the field in total fundraising with nearly $1.6 million on hand in his campaign account as of June 30. Hernandez raised nearly $1.2 million in 2017.

Three of his Democratic rivals have never run for elected office but are proving they are not exactly newcomers to politics.

Eleni Kounalakis of San Francisco, a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary and fundraiser for former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, has topped the field when it comes to raising cash this year. Kounalakis raked in $1.5 million, which includes more than $500,000 she contributed to her own campaign. She had nearly $1.4 million cash on hand as of June 30.

Los Angeles physician Asif Mahmood, who also helped raise money for Clinton’s presidential campaign, raised just over $1 million and has $846,996 cash on hand.

San Francisco Bay Area attorney Jeff Bleich, a former U.S. ambassador to Australia and special counsel to President Obama, raised just shy of $660,000 and has most of it in the bank.

The biggest wild card in the race is Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (DLos Angeles), who has stockpiled $2.8 million in a campaign committee for lieutenant governor. And that doesn’t include the $886,000 de León had socked away in his state Senate campaign account.

De León this year has raised nearly $1.4 million for the race, which is noteworthy because it’s still unclear whether he’s actually going to run for that office.

So far, no major Republican candidates are actively campaigning for lieutenant governor.