Donations, spending ramp up in final months of Central Coast congressional race
In the final months leading up to the Nov. 3 presidential election, campaign fundraising and spending spiked for both candidates in the race for the Central Coast’s congressional seat.
Though U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, who is seeking a third term, has long enjoyed a wide financial advantage over his Republican challenger, Andy Caldwell, the incumbent raised about $50,000 less than his opponent between July and October.
For the first time, Caldwell’s fundraising — which came from far more individual donors and just two political action committees — surpassed the $1 million mark, with more than $1.1 million raised since the beginning of the election cycle. Carbajal has more than $1.5 million in campaign cash.
Still, the race to represent the comfortably Democratic district in the U.S. House of Representatives is drawing less campaign funding than in the past two election cycles.
While Carbajal has received heavy financial support from political action committees (PACs) tied to unions and corporations, the national Democratic Party has dropped just $50,000 into his reelection, likely focusing on more closely contested races.
Caldwell, a Santa Maria conservative talk radio host, has reported no money from the Republican Party’s congressional committee, but has received $5,000 from the San Luis Obispo County Republican Party and $405 from the Santa Barbara County Republican Party.
The district was the focus of big party dollars and one of the most expensive Congressional races in the country during the final days of the 2016 race between Carbajal and former Republican Party “young gun” Justin Fareed, although the same match-up generated considerably less attention in 2018.
The 24th Congressional District contains all of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, as well as a portion of Ventura County
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.
Caldwell entered the reporting quarter July 1 with $230,520 and raised $349,188 as of Oct. 1, leaving the period with $314,977 on hand. He spent $265,131 in the same period, far more than the roughly $70,000 he spent during the previous three months.
All told, Caldwell has raised $1.1 million and spent $782,059 since the beginning of the race.
About 96% of his individual donations came from district residents.
He reported slightly more than $15,000 in debts.
Caldwell’s donors include San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Debbie Arnold, Paso Robles Councilman John Hamon, rancher Ernie Dalidio, developer Doug Filipponi, former Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, Republican Party of San Luis County chair Randall Jordan and former Santa Barbara County district attorney and Madera County judge David Minier.
Caldwell also received $1,000 from a PAC for a Japanese cement company.
In his last report, Caldwell reported a $5,000 from the PAC for the California Independent Petroleum Association. He enjoys small-scale donor support from a host of retirees, small business owners and local farming companies.
Carbajal has a 5-1 cash advantage over Caldwell, and went into October with $1.5 million. He began the reporting period July 1 with $1.7 million, and raised $296,261 between July and October, spending $363,788. Between April and July, he spent just $96,208.
About 95% of Carbajal’s individual donations came from district residents.
He reported zero debt.
As in past election cycles, the two-term incumbent Carbajal — a former U.S. Marine and Santa Barbara County supervisor — enjoys the support of the Democratic Party chapters of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, as well as the Democratic Party’s congressional committee.
He took in more than $116,000 this period — about 40% of his contributions — from PACs, including committees for corporations such as AT&T, Google, T-Mobile and United Airlines, and various labor unions.
Check out The Tribune 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.
