Democrats reportedly outraised their GOP counterparts in key U.S. House races in California last year — and in the battleground area of Orange County, that could make a major difference.
Both Issa and Royce announced they were retiring.
Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine raised $253,722 last quarter, according to the Los Angeles Times. That leaves her with $1.5 million in her campaign war chest. Her challenger Brian Forde, a former policy advisor to President Brack Obama, reportedly raised $403,829; fellow Democrat law professor Katie Porter raised $266,669; and Dave Min, former aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), reportedly raised $212,575.
The Los Angeles Times notes that Rohrabacher’s Democratic challengers raised more money than he did but that it is possible none of the candidates will wind up on the November ballot because they might end up splitting the vote during the June primary, which would allow two Republicans to advance to the general election under the “jungle” system.
“We cannot split this vote,” Hans Keirstead, a stem-cell biologist who is a frontrunner among the Democrats against Rohrabacher said during an event hosted by the Democratic Foundation of Orange County, according to the Orange County Register. He reportedly added, “[Replacing Rohrabacher] is more important than any one of us. … I will step down if I’m not in the lead.”
Meanwhile, the Times notes that Royce raised $482,841 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, leaving him with more than $3.6 million in his war chest. Considering that he announced he is retiring, Royce has reportedly stated he would use the money he hass raised to help other Republicans or keep it in his congressional account.
Issa reportedly raised $403,792 in the last three months of 2017 and ended the year with more than $1 million in his corner. However, Democrat challenger and real estate investor Paul Kerr raised $509,162 and fellow Democrat Sara Jacobs raised nearly $1.4 million and had $1.2 million in cash on hand. The Times notes that both Kerr and Jacobs drew from their personal wealth.
Knight was barely outraised by his Democrat challenger, Bryan Caforio.
The Democratic Party has also been on a roll nationally. Breitbart News reported, “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) reported Monday that it raised $105.4 million last year, providing them with a robust war chest which they will use to try and retake the House in 2018.”
The Democrats need to win only 24 seats to flip the House in 2018.
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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