“Money is the mother’s milk of politics.”
Coined by Jesse Unruh, a former California Assembly speaker, that phrase is the standard answer to how money plays a role in politics.
And it’s a window into how money is already shaping the open congressional seat in Orange County — one that has drawn a bevy of contenders and is eyed by both national parties as a potential determiner in who controls the House come 2025.
“Nationally, the Republicans and the Democrats both are going to be pouring money into this race,” Fred Smoller, a Chapman University political science professor, said. “Money matters.”
With the first quarter of fundraising reports in, it’s Republican Scott Baugh, a former GOP Assembly leader, in the lead, having raised $531,068 between Jan. 1 and March 31.
Democratic state Sen. Dave Min comes in at a close second with $521,281. Joanna Weiss, a Democratic community organizer, raised $421,730.
Republican businessman Max Ukropina doesn’t have a filing report since he just recently entered the race — after the filing period. But according to his campaign, he has already raised $152,154 from 131 individual contributors since he announced last week.
For the three major candidates who do have filing reports, the bulk of the funds raised in the first quarter comes from individual contributions. Weiss loaned her campaign $30,000, and Min and Weiss reported they personally contributed $5,800 and $6,600 to their campaigns, respectively.
The coastal CA-47 includes Irvine, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. And Democrats have a slight upper hand in voter registration: 35.6% of voters in the district registered as Democrats, 33.9% as Republicans and 24.5% list no party preference.
The seat is open after incumbent Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, launched a bid to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“As a general rule, incumbents win because of all the built-in advantages they have, like name recognition,” Smoller said….
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