Central Coast congressional race not generating the dollars it did last time
The congressional matchup pitting Democratic incumbent Rep. Salud Carbajal against Republican challenger is not shaping up to be the high-dollar showdown the seat presented in past years.
Fundraising in the race for the U.S. House of Representatives’ 24th District seat on the Central Coast of California so far shows less money from interests outside the district going toward the Republican candidate than in previous races, in a location where voter registration highly favors Democrats.
Though both candidates raised roughly the same amount between April and mid-July, according to the most recent campaign finance reports as of July 15, Carbajal ended that reporting cycle with about $1.7 million in campaign cash — more than twice the amount raised by Caldwell.
Both campaigns are scheduled to release one last report prior to the Nov. 3 Presidential Election, on Oct. 20, but disclosures so far show far less influence in the race from special interests than in the previous two races, when the state and national Republican Party as well as a long list of conservative political PACs threw a record amount of cash behind two-time candidate and former GOP “young gun” Justin Fareed.
Fareed’s financial support prompted even more financial backing for Carbajal from the Democratic Party and like-minded PACs.
At this point in the 2018 election, Carbajal boasted $2.2 million in total raised, with about $624,000 of that coming from PACs. At that time, Fareed had raised a total of just $755,000 ($24,000 of that from PACs), but by October, the challenger had amassed more than $1.2 million in total contributions, including more than $100,000 from conservative PACs.
This year’s election reports shows far less PAC money going into the race, with just over $41,000 collected — mostly by Carbajal — between April 1 and July 15.
The 24th Congressional District encompasses all of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, as well as a portion of northern Ventura County. Carbajal has represented the district since 2016.
According to the California Secretary of State, the district’s 411,823 registered voters are comprised of roughly 42% registered Democrats, 29.5% Republican voters, and 21.4% no party preference.
Challenger’s money comes mostly from small contributions
Caldwell, of Santa Maria, has had a decades-long career on the Central Coast as host of The Andy Caldwell Show and is a founder of the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business of Santa Barbara County.
Despite his opponent’s overwhelming cash advantage, Caldwell had an impressive early summer of fundraising, taking in his vast majority of contributions from small, individual donors.
He entered the reporting period April 1 with $161,630, and raised $170,813 as of July 15, leaving the period with $230,920 after spending roughly $70,023. In total, Caldwell has raised $781,988 and spent $516,928 during the election cycle. He reports no debts.
His donors include former Central Coast Assemblywoman Andrea Seastrand and the Paso Robles Athletic Club, as well as $2,500 (or a total of $5,000 this election) from the PAC for the California Independent Petroleum Association. He enjoys small donation support from a host of small-business owners, as well as various local farming companies and current and retired law enforcement officers.
Carbajal entered the period with more than $1.6 million, and raised roughly $190,998 between April and mid-July. He spent about $96,200 in that period (a total of $801,693 this election cycle), and ended the period with $1,698,487, with zero debts.
As in past election cycles, the two-term incumbent Carbajal — a former U.S. Marine and Santa Barbara County supervisor — enjoys the support of local prominent Democratic Party members such as former San Luis Obispo City Councilman John Ashbaugh and former county Supervisor Shirley Bianchi, as well as Grover Beach Councilwoman Mariam Shah.
He took in $39,000 this period from PACs, including committees for corporations such as AT&T, Google, T-Mobile, United Airlines and, Wells Fargo, as well as various labor unions and the national Chamber of Commerce.
Check out our Voter Guide
Still deciding how to vote on this race? In The Tribune’s Voter Guide, we’ve compiled information about both candidates as well as their responses on a number of key issues. You can also compare candidates for your local city council, community service district or school board.
Find The Tribune Voter Guide at sanluisobispo.com/voter-guide.
