Republican Scott Baugh continues to be the top fundraiser in the race for California’s 47th congressional district, bringing in more than $550,000 this campaign finance cycle, according to reports posted this week with the Federal Election Commission.
Over 80% of the former GOP Assembly leader’s more than half a million haul was raised from individual donors. Baugh, who came out on top in the last quarter, is endorsed by Speaker Kevin McCarthy whose leadership PAC this cycle doled out $10,000 to his campaign.
The race for Rep. Katie Porter’s open congressional district features a crowded slate of candidates, among them Baugh, Democratic state Sen. Dave Min, Republican businessman Max Ukropina and Democratic community organizer Joanna Weiss.
“This race looked like it was going to be extremely competitive from the very beginning, and Baugh’s fundraising success makes it even more clear how hard Democrats are going to have to fight if they want to hold onto Porter’s seat,” said Dan Schnur, who teaches political messaging at UC Berkeley and USC.
The coastal CA-47, which includes Irvine, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, is one of 33 Republican-held or open seats in the country that the national Democratic Party’s campaign arm is eyeing as a “critical battleground” to win a House majority. And Republicans, too, see the seat as a “top target” to pick up in 2024.
Democrats have a slight upper hand in voter registration in the district: 35.6% of voters in the district registered as Democrats, 33.9% as Republicans and 24.5% list no party preference.
Min, D-Irvine, despite being arrested in May on suspicion of driving under the influence, is in the second-best position in terms of cash heading into the third quarter. He raised over $403,000 from April 1 to June 30, with 95% of contributions coming from individual donors. Min, who raised $521,281 from Jan. 1 to March 31, closed out the most recent reporting period with more…
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