GOP alarm? Dem challengers outraise seven California House Republicans

Democratic challengers outraised seven Republican members of Congress in California over the last three months of 2017, the latest sign of a flood of support for Democrats as they try to take control of the House of Representatives in this year’s midterm elections.

The GOP’s lackluster fundraising totals showed up in more than half of the races here in which Republican incumbents are running for re-election, according to campaign finance reports released Thursday.

Republican incumbents fell short from a deep-red district in California’s north — where two first-time Democratic candidates each topped Rep. Tom McClintock’s campaign haul — to more competitive districts in the south — where Reps. Mimi Walters and Dana Rohrabacher collected less than their Democratic opponents.

The figures suggest that California, long a source of campaign funds for battleground states, could be a major focus for big donors outside the Golden State this year.

“This early money sends a strong signal for Democrats,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University. “Democrats cannot win the House without picking off at least several of these Republicans in California.”

Democrats must win 24 Republican-held seats to take control of the House. And two California GOP incumbents — Reps. Darrell Issa and Ed Royce — have already announced they will not run for re-election.

Three Republican incumbents even ended the year with less cash on hand than Democratic challengers — an extremely rare development in House races, where incumbents usually have a strong financial advantage.

Most strikingly, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, raised less than $51,000, being outraised by two Democratic challengers in his San Diego-area seat. Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former Obama administration official, took in $176,000, and Josh Butner, a former Navy Seal, raised $106,000. Hunter ended the year with $290,900 in the bank, compared with $299,000 for Campa-Najjar.


https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/02/01/democratic-challengers-outraise-seven-of-californias-republican-members-of-congress/