Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
See Democrats Scramble for California’s Cash in 5 Charts
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 6 years ago on
July 18, 2019

Share

While California Sen. Kamala Harris has harvested more than $7.5 million here this year in her bid for the presidency, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, outraised her in her own state in the year’s second quarter.


Ben Christopher
CALmatters

Even so, she bested Mayor Pete Buttigieg in California dollars in the past month. A sharp dip in his statewide fundraising numbers in June could suggest the multilingual millennial mayor may have reached the end of his honeymoon in California, despite the fact that his fundraising numbers nationwide remained robust.
Also worth noting: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders actually “won” more California zip codes than any other candidate — albeit with smaller donations.
That’s according to the latest batch of figures out from the Federal Election Committee. Every three months, the commission publishes a list of itemized donations — political contributions from any California donors who have given at least $200 a year.
We still may be more than 16 months — yes, that’s 476 days — before election day in November 2020, but this year Californians have thrown more than $26 million at the two dozen candidates hoping to win the Democratic nomination and take on President Donald Trump.
What else do the numbers tell us?
In short: The race for money largely mirror the polls, showing California’s donor class is gravitating toward the top five candidates. Harris, Buttigieg, Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren all have jockeyed in both state and national surveys for the top spots. Together, the five have taken home more than 71% of California’s itemized donations in 2019.


Money may not count for everything in politics (just ask Jeb Bush, who spent $130 million in his run for president in 2016).

No surprise, the top fundraisers in California did particularly well in the biggest-giving (that is, the richest) zip codes in the state.
But about a year out from the deadline for the Democrats to choose their presidential ticket, a boatload of cash is necessary to keep contenders in the game. It’s even essential to make it into the next debate. This week, the Democratic National Committee will announce who will have made the cut for the next televised face-off, on July 30. One way to qualify: Garner donations from at least 65,000 people (with at least 200 from each state).
And now that California comes early in the primary pecking order with its moved-up March 3 primary, early financial success here could be an important indicator of who will make it through that Super Tuesday.
No surprise, the top fundraisers in California did particularly well in the biggest-giving (that is, the richest) ZIP codes in the state.
Harris and Buttigieg both saw big infusions from the tonier neighborhoods of Los Angeles and the Bay Area, with Harris, the former district attorney of San Francisco, doing particularly well in her former city’s mansion-festooned Pacific and Presidio Heights. Buttigieg had a strong showing in West Hollywood, which is high-income and also has a large LGBTQ community that might have particular enthusiasm for the first major candidate who is gay.

The top ten ZIP codes by total donations account for nearly 18% of all of California’s itemized donations this year so far.
Sanders, who did well in many rural swaths of the state in the 2016 primary, was the top fundraiser in more of California’s ZIP codes than any other candidate. By that measure, he led in 443 ZIP codes, beating out Harris’ count of 419 and Buttigieg’s 167.
The average Buttigieg donation was $418, and the average Harris donation was $371, while the average Sanders contribution was $66. In other words, Sanders may have been the most popular candidate in the largest number of neighborhoods across California — just not among big donors or in the neighborhoods where big donors tend to live.


While Beto O’Rourke, the former Congressman from Texas who nearly defeated Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate race, was clearly the flavor of the month in March, his popularity has been melting ever since.
As the top collector of itemized California cash in the past quarter, Buttigieg raised roughly $3 million here in April and May, taking a massive bite out of what had been a commanding financial lead for Harris. But as of June, that monthly haul has been cut in half. That may be thanks in part to some less than flattering coverage of the mayor, who was criticized last month for his handling of a police shooting in his hometown, and to her standout performance in the first televised debate.
Though Buttigieg’s California infusion from June still amounts to more than what Sanders and Warren received last month, both saw their contributions from California nearly double from May to June.
And while Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman from Texas who nearly defeated Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate race, was clearly the flavor of the month in March, his popularity has been melting ever since.


Curious how the candidates are crafting their pitch for California voters? Read more here.
CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

DON'T MISS

Netanyahu Meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Trump Executive Order Seeks End to Wind and Solar Energy Subsidies

DON'T MISS

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

DON'T MISS

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

DON'T MISS

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

DON'T MISS

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

DON'T MISS

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

DON'T MISS

Madera County Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Felony Suspect in Atwater

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest DUI Driver During Crackdown on Illegal Street Racing and Sideshows

UP NEXT

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

UP NEXT

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

UP NEXT

July 4th Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Founding Fathers

UP NEXT

Presidential Election Reveals Big Shift in California Voting Patterns. Will It Last?

UP NEXT

CIA Review Finds Flaws but Does Not Dispute Finding Putin Sought to Sway 2016 Vote to Trump

UP NEXT

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

Zohran Mamdani Officially Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

2 hours ago

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

2 hours ago

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

2 hours ago

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

2 hours ago

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

2 hours ago

Madera County Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Felony Suspect in Atwater

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest DUI Driver During Crackdown on Illegal Street Racing and Sideshows

3 hours ago

July 4 Weekend Was No Picnic for Fresno-Area Firefighters. How Bad Did It Get?

4 hours ago

Tulare County Seizes 300 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks Over Fourth of July

4 hours ago

US Proposes Rules That Could Boost Oil, Gas Output in US West

4 hours ago

Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told President Donald Trump he had nominated him for the Nobel Peace ...

47 minutes ago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a bilateral dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured), at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
47 minutes ago

Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
54 minutes ago

Netanyahu Meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

A wind farm is shown in Movave, California, U.S., November 8, 2019. (Reuter File)
1 hour ago

Trump Executive Order Seeks End to Wind and Solar Energy Subsidies

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testifies before a Senate Appropriations hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Education, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 3, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Threatens California With Legal Action Over Transgender Sports Law

United States Department of Veterans Affairs logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Veterans Affairs Will Cut Nearly 30,000 Jobs, Far Fewer Than Planned

A group of search and rescue workers paddle a boat in the Guadalupe River in the aftermath of deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 7, 2025. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)
2 hours ago

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

2 hours ago

Tucker Carlson Aired Interview With President of Iran

Attendees visit the 23andMe booth at the RootsTech annual genealogical event in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., February 28, 2019. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend