Campaign cash floods O.C. races for House
Disclosures signal GOP incumbents in key districts have reason to worry.
WASHINGTON — More than half the money raised for the most contested House races in California is going to candidates in Orange County, another indication of its starring role in the Democratic effort to win back control of the House next year.
Democrats need to capture at least a few of California’s Republican-held districts in the quest to flip 24 seats. The once reliably Republican Orange County backed Democrat Hillary Clinton for president one year ago, and Democratic candidates have come out in droves to challenge Republican House incumbents there. Of the 80 or so challengers in California, 27 are running in Orange County.
A Los Angeles Times analysis of this year’s campaign finance filings found it is also where the cash is going: About $15 million of the nearly $28.5 million raised this year for 13 key races went to candidates in just four Orange County districts: the 39th held by Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton, the 45th held by Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine, the 48th held by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and the 49th held by Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista.
That includes $1.3 million in donations of less than $200, which candidates don’t have to give details about, and nearly $4.3 million in loans or contributions from the candidates to themselves.
Money is not the only factor in a tough campaign, and much could still change before the June primary, in which the top two vote getters advance to the November election regardless of party. But the totals so far give a window into the viabil-
ity of the field of candidates and the energy behind their campaigns, and the numbers should give Republican incumbents reason to worry.
The Democrats can use the numbers to telegraph that the campaign in Orange County is serious. Already, they have opened a satellite Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee office there. If a wave materializes next year, the Democrats will be in a strong position to take advantage of it.
The closest either party has come to these numbers under the current campaign finance system was in October 2009, just before the Republicans won 63 House seats in the biggest sweep in decades.
In the nine Republicanheld California races The Times is watching closely, the challengers have raised more than $13 million, significantly more than the $10.5 million the GOP incumbents have reported.
The Democrats’ numbers are bolstered by several challengers who have pumped six-figure amounts into their own campaigns, and one candidate who gave himself a $2-million loan.
The huge loans some of the Orange County challengers have given themselves set these races apart. Ten Orange County Democratic challengers in two districts have loaned their campaigns a combined $3.7 million.
It’s unusual for so many candidates to loan themselves large amounts so early in the race, and it shows some are anticipating a tough battle.
In the 39th District, four Democrats challenging Royce have loaned themselves a combined $2.79 million, with $2 million coming from a single candidate — health insurance executive Andy Thorburn. Only one Democrat there hasn’t loaned himself money.
In the 48th District, six candidates, or half of the Democratic challengers to Rohrabacher, have loaned themselves a combined $806,488.
Though Orange County challengers are raising lots of money, in some cases more than the incumbents, most Orange County Republican incumbents are raising more than they did in their last campaigns. And they still hold a major cash advantage over their challengers.
Walters has raised twice what she had this far out from the 2016 election, and Issa has taken in more than five times the amount he had in the last election, when he nearly lost his seat. Rohrabacher, who has been known for his lackluster fundraising, has raised about $852,200 so far this year, more than double what he brought in at this point in the last campaign. Despite the large loans his opponents
have given themselves, Royce leads the pack with $3.4 million in the bank.
Another note: Donations are overwhelmingly coming from Californians both in Orange County and in other key races. Of the $26 million in itemized donations to the 13 key races (the ones that require identifying information), $16 million, or 61.5%, came from in the state.
Challengers to incumbents are getting the biggest percentage of their cash from inside California — 32 statewide got at least 75% of their cash from fellow Californians. Most of those donations are coming from Southern Californians, with millions coming from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas.
New candidates cast their in-state fundraising as an example of local support, but they often also don’t have the national connections needed to bring in donations from across the country.