Schiff reports significant cash advantage over Porter and Lee in Senate race

At the start of a test of strength in the race to replace an outgoing US senator. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Adam B. Schiff has a notable financial advantage over Representatives. Kathy Porter and Barbara Lee, according to federal campaign documents released Saturday.

While many expected Schiff to have a large military budget because he had a relatively easy re-election campaign last year, he also raised millions of dollars more than Porter, who is also known for being a terrific fundraiser.

“Schiff is in a better position than expected. As a result, Porter ended up being shorter than expected – she will have to demonstrate that she has more fundraising opportunities than it seems right now. And Lee will have to find another way to do it other than big money, but we knew that from the very beginning,” said Dan Shnur, professor of politics at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Southern California and Pepperdine University. “Schiff has a very strong advantage, but it is not overwhelming. He’s clearly the favorite, but he shouldn’t take anything for granted.”

It’s still early – almost a year before the primaries, and November 2024 before the general election.

Schiff, Porter and Lee are the most prominent Democrats among the 18 candidates who have so far applied for the election. Attorney Eric Early is the most prominent Republican, but he entered the race last week so he’s not required to disclose fundraising until July.

While Schiff and Porter raised millions of dollars in the first three months of the year, Schiff ended the first quarter of 2023 with $24.7 million in cash while Porter had $9.5 million, according to the disclosure. fundraising information posted on the FEC website on Saturday. .

Two members of Congress are among the most effective fundraisers, with Porter ranked first. 2nd in the last election cycle, behind only current House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. According to federal election data, Schiff finished in fourth place.

But Porter, a former UC Irvine law professor, fought a close race for re-election last year in her Orange County district and spent big money to win re-election by a narrow margin. Schiff’s neighborhood, which includes Burbank, Glendale, and West Hollywood, is largely Democratic, allowing him to get re-elected and accumulate millions of dollars more than Porter. Under federal election law, both are allowed to transfer funds raised for their House elections to their newly formed Senate campaigns.

Schiff raised $6.5 million and spent $2.8 million in the first three months of 2023, while Porter raised $4.5 million and spent $2.5 million, according to federal election records.

The gap between the amount they could allocate to their Senate campaigns was to be expected. However, there was no difference between their fundraising, says Thad Kusser, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego.

“Kathy Porter needed to be shown the ability to catch up,” he said. “She needed to catch up, and the fact that he’s moving forward is an important signal.”

Both vastly outperformed Lee, who has never had to raise large sums of money running for re-election in her Democratic-dominated Congressional district in Oakland. Lee raised $1.1 million, spent $101,000 and had $1.2 million in cash as of March 31, election records show.

The question of the influence of supercomputing committees, which are not officially associated with the candidate and can collect unlimited amounts from donors, remains open. Each candidate for the Senate is backed by such a committee; no one has yet filed financial information with the Federal Election Commission.