Carbajal raises $1.1 million as money pours into 24th District congressional campaign

Correction: According to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee press secretary Barb Solish, the DCCC did not donate to Salud Carbajal’s campaign but is listed in the candidate’s year-end financial disclosure because it distributed $2,000 in contributions on the behalf of two political action committees, the Progressive Choices PAC and the Torquoise PAC.

Correction: An earlier verion of this story gave the incorrect hometown for candidate John Uebersax. He is from Morro Bay.

Big money has entered the 24th District congressional race, making it a high-profile contest for an open seat in a district where party registration offers no guarantees of a win.

The Democratic Party is putting money into holding onto the Central Coast seat being vacated by Rep. Lois Capps, with several national political action committees contributing to Democratic candidate Salud Carbajal’s campaign. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted him for financial support, while Ameripac, a political action committee focused on electing Democrats to Congress, has named Carbajal a “priority” candidate in 2016.

It’s paid off. Carbajal, a Santa Barbara County supervisor endorsed by Capps, raised more than $1.1 million in 2015, far outstripping all of his competitors except Republican Justin Fareed, a 27-year-old Santa Barbara businessman who has never held office. Fareed, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in the 2014 primary, has managed to raise nearly $900,000 from local contributors and several Republican committees.

While two other candidates — Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, a Democrat, and Republican Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian from San Luis Obispo — both raised respectable amounts in 2015, their fundraising has been eclipsed by the financial firepower Carbajal and Fareed have pulled off so far.

Voter registration in the district, which covers San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties as well as a wedge of Ventura County, is primed for a battle between the parties, with Democrats at 37 percent, Republicans at 34 percent and 23 percent of voters with no party preference.

The latest campaign disclosures filed with the Federal Elections Commission show each candidate’s finances through Dec. 31. According to FEC guidelines, individuals are allowed to donate up to $2,700 to a federal candidate’s primary election and an additional $2,700 to the same candidate’s general election. A person may also give up to $5,000 per calendar year to a political action committee.

In addition to Achadjian, Carbajal, Fareed and Schneider, six other candidates have filed to run for the 24th District seat, although they have only modest financial stakes in the race so far.

Here are the details:

Salud Carbajal

Carbajal, 51, a third-term Santa Barbara County supervisor, drew support among national Democratic circles, celebrities, unions, small-business owners and others to raise $1,149,903 in 2015. He also accrued expenses of $415,301 — making him the biggest spender in the race — and had $970,309 in cash on hand as of Dec. 31.

Carbajal’s large list of contributors include Democratic House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer’s Ameripac PAC, which donated $5,000; Santa Barbara philanthropist Michael Armand Hammer, who donated $5,400; filmmaker Peter Douglas, son of actor Kirk Douglas, who donated $2,700; the American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO, which donated $5,000; the International Association of Iron Workers, which donated $5,000; the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which donated $5,000; Santa Barbara County Supervisor Janet Wolf, who donated $500; and Laura Capps, Rep. Lois Capps’ daughter, who donated $250.

Justin Fareed

Fareed, 27, who ran for Congress against Capps in 2014 and narrowly lost in the primary election to fellow Republican Chris Mitchum, raised $869,398 for his campaign as of Dec. 31 — slightly more than half of that raised between October and the end of December, more money than any candidate in that time period.

After spending about $103,632 in 2015, Fareed had $767,265 in cash on hand on Dec. 31.

Fareed’s financial support comes mostly from Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties, with a majority of his donors being retired or small-business owners or employees, a large number of which contributed the maximum amount allowable. Notable contributors include Santa Barbara County Supervisor Peter Adam, who gave $3,500, and $5,400 from Stephen Bechtel of Bechtel Corp.

Fareed’s former boss, Kentucky’s Rep. Ed Whitfield, gave $5,000 through his Thoroughbred PAC; $5,000 was donated from the committee for Murray Energy Corp., an Ohio coal mining company; $2,000 from the committees of San Diego Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr.; and $200 from the Lincoln Club of Santa Maria Valley. Fareed also invested $613 into his own campaign.

Helene Schneider

Schneider, 45, raised $479,183 in contributions in 2015. After spending about $233,000, she ended the year with nearly $247,000 in cash.

The Santa Barbara mayor, who spent more than a decade with Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties, enjoys support from Santa Barbara-based county and city administrators, educators and health care providers. She has gathered support from a few celebrities as well, including $5,400 in donations from “Avatar” director James Cameron and $2,700 from “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman.

Katcho Achadjian

Achadjian, 64, raised $418,655 in contributions by Dec. 31. The second largest spender among the candidates, Achadjian spent $161,571 in 2015, ending the year with about $257,000 in cash.

A former San Luis Obispo County supervisor, as well as the current 35th District assemblyman, his support comes largely from within San Luis Obispo County. Notable contributions include $1,500 from county Supervisor Lynn Compton; $1,000 from Mark Woolpert, president of Compass Health; $1,000 from the SLO Cattlemen’s Association PAC; $1,000 from the Home Builders Association of the Central Coast PAC; $750 from Guadalupe police Chief Gary Hoving; and many local small-business owners.

William Ostrander

A San Luis Obispo rancher and activist, Ostrander, 56, barely registered on the financial map. A champion of campaign finance reform who wants to limit big-donation spending, Ostrander raised $20,317 in 2015 and accrued expenses of $21,668. He had $303 in the bank on Dec. 31.

No filing

The other candidates, excluding Republican Tyler Gross, who dropped out of the race Monday, reported not receiving or spending any money so far: Republican Matt Kokkonen of San Luis Obispo; independent Steve Isakson of Atascadero; Santa Barbara Democrat Jeff Oshins, Montecito Democrat Benjamin Lucas; and Morro Bay independent John Uebersax.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Carbajal raises $1.1 million as money pours into 24th District congressional campaign."