Seems that the electronic filing deadline for Election 2008 CA 80th Assembly District came and went without me making any comment on the results. Well, whether you like it or not here comes my late bloomer blogging about the March 24, 2008, filing.
Greg Pettis, Mayor Pro-Tem of Cathedral City and Democratic candidate for the 80th AD lead all Democratic and Republican opponents in this filing. Pettis raised $54,980.43 during this filing period, spent $52,371.86, and has $31,062.71 cash on hand.
Gary Jeandron, boardmember of the Palm Springs Unified School District and presumptive Republican candidate for the 80th AD raised $38,093, spent $39,754.34, and has $148,039.3 on hand campaign monies.
More below the flip…
Manuel Perez, Vice-President of the Coachella Valley Unified School District and Democratic candidate for the 80th AD raised $18,334, spent $22,788.90, and has $31,541.74 cash on hand.
Rick Gonzalez, Wells Fargo Community Development Corp. employee, raised $17,047.93, spent $16,317.41, and has $32,403.63 in available cash.
Richard Guttierrez, dentist, did not file. Only candidates raising or spending $50,000 or more or who received a $5,000 donation are required to file electronically. This means that Guttierrez raised less than $50,000, spent less than $50,000, and did not receive any donation in the amount of $5,000 or greater.
Overall, Pettis far-and-away outraised his Democratic and presumptive Republican opposition. In fact, Pettis seems to have raised more money than his three Democratic challengers combined. Pettis also outspent his three Democratic rivals combined according to the electronic filing. Regarding cash on hand, though, each of the three Democratic campaigns have approximately the same funds in current accounts, though Perez at this rate is spending more each month than he is collecting in donations.
Even more interesting is the fact the Pettis outraised Jeandron in this reporting cycle. In fact, Pettis raised fifty percent more campaign funds than did Jeandron. Jeandron still has a much better campaign war chest as we head towards November. In fact, observers have noted that Jeandron has begun to spend advertising monies on AirAmerica, a progressive talk radio station, that airs in the Coachella Valley on a local station.
At least in this reporting period, the donations in the Coachella Valley are mimicking those on the National level where Democrats are outraising and outspending the Republicans. The difference is that on the National level, Democrats also have a huge campaign war chest.