I’ve been a really, really bad blogger and have stopped my Congressional House Roundup.  So here’s a mini-one.  I’ve dug up the totals for 2007 fundraising in the top races in the state, and they’re a little interesting.  Here are the numbers from the key races.

CA-11:

Jerry McNerney raised $1.065 million in 2007, has $760,000 cash on hand

Dean Andal raised $535,000, has $471,000 CoH

CA-04:

Charlie Brown raised $506,000, has $383,000 CoH I was looking at Q3 numbers.  Brown has raised $692,000, and has $483,000 CoH.  Big numbers for a non-incumbent.

Eric Egland raised $141,000, has $79,000 CoH

There are no fundraising numbers yet for the new challengers who have entered the race on the Republican side, including former State Sen. Rico Oller and former US Rep. Doug Ose.  By the way, Ose has donated to Doolittle’s legal defense fund, along with Minority Leader John Boehner.  Reformers, all of them!

CA-26:

David Dreier raised $599,000, has $1.96 million CoH

Russ Warner raised $380,000, has $240,000 CoH

Hoyt Hilsman raised $114,000, has $10,550 CoH

Obviously, Dreier is sitting on a goldmine.  

CA-50:

Brian Bilbray raised $419,000, has $262,000 CoH

Nick Leibham raised $211,000, has $188,000 CoH

Very encouraging.

Others to note:

Mary Bono (CA-45) only has a paltry $219,000 CoH.  Her potential opponents Julie Bornstein, David Hunsicker and Paul Clay got in too late to register any money in this quarter (sometimes the FEC shows residual candidates who have run in previous years, so I’m not certain they’re running.)

Mike Lumpkin, the Democrat in CA-52 trying to take Duncan Hunter’s open seat, raised $78,000 in 2007 and has $43,000 CoH.

There’s not much else to write home about here.

It’s deadline day for 3rd quarter FEC reports, and the one I was really waiting for was from Charlie Brown.  He didn’t disappoint.

Cash raised in Q3: $212,091
Total cash raised this cycle: $495,830 (wow!)
Cash on hand: $382,767

Media’s not cheap in that district, but certainly nowhere near as expensive as in many other parts of the state.  So this is an even bigger haul, comparatively.

How much did John Doolittle take in, you ask?  This is embarrassing.

Cash raised in Q3: $50,308
Total cash raised this cycle: $296,332
Cash on hand: $37,995

That’s LESS than Eric Egland, one of his primary opponents, raised.  AND, 15% of that goes to Doolittle’s wife, right?

Things are looking good in the Sierras…

The Sac Bee is reporting that the Doolittle primary race just got a little more crowded. Right-wing veteran and counterterrorism consultant Eric Egland and Auburn City Council member Mike Holmes had already announced their candidacies in the CA-04 Republican primary. Now they’ve been joined by Roseville Assemblyman Ted Gaines (AD-04). Gaines has just announced that he’s forming an exploratory committee to test the waters.

The announcement by the Republican state lawmaker and former Placer County supervisor signals that Doolittle could face a well-funded GOP primary challenger if the incumbent seeks a 10th term as he has promised.

The decision by Gaines, long a loyal part of Doolittle’s base in the conservative 4th District, signal’s the congressman’s falling standing since an FBI raid of his Virginia home as part of the political corruption probe of disgraced Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

“I think voters have lost faith in his leadership ability,” Gaines said, in his strongest comments to date on Doolittle. He added: “When you lose the moral ability to lead you kind of have to re-evaluate. There are enough questions around Congressman Doolittle that are causing a lot of cloudiness and unclearness…in the 4th district.”

It looks like the Republicans are getting serious about taking Doolittle out of the race. And even though Gaines is only ostensibly testing the waters, once he’s raised $5,000, he’ll have to register with the FEC and submit financial reports. Come October 15, it should get a little easier to read the tea leaves surrounding Doolittle and his competitors.

Cross posted at The Progressive Connection