Katie Porter falls behind Adam Schiff in third-quarter fundraising in California Senate race
October 12, 2023 06:57 PM
Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) brought in over $3 million in fundraising for the third quarter of the 2024 California Senate race, falling behind Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) despite polling neck and neck with him recently.
Porter brought in $3.4 million for her Senate campaign for the third quarter spanning June through September, according to the Federal Election Commission. She said in a statement via the Messenger that 99% of the donations were $100 or less, and the average donation was less than $28.
Porter said she was “proud to be running a grassroots campaign.”
“I’ve proven time and again that I can’t be bought, having never taken a penny from corporate PACs and refusing donations from federal lobbyists,” Porter said. “Californians deserve a senator who they can believe in and who they know is working for them instead of powerful corporate interests with hidden agendas.”
Andrew Harnik/AP
The California representative, serving her third term in Congress, raised a similar amount in the second quarter: over 110,000 donations averaging $59 to total $3.2 million.
Porter now has $12 million cash on hand, and Schiff has $32 million cash on hand. He raised $6.4 million in the third quarter in the race for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), also a top contender, has not announced her third-quarter fundraising numbers yet.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) appointed now-Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) to replace Feinstein after she died on Sept. 29 at the age of 90. Butler has not decided whether she will run in 2024, but Newsom said she could enter the race if she wished.
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If Butler enters the race, it could shake up the 2024 election. California’s primary rules state that the top two candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the general election, meaning two Democrats could face off in 2024. The seat is expected to stay in Democratic hands, but whose hands those end up being will depend on the two candidates chosen to advance from the primary.
The latest survey from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies-Los Angeles Times found Schiff and Porter leading the race, with 20% and 17% of the support, respectively, followed by Lee at 7%. Republicans Steve Garvey and James Bradley had 7% in the poll, and GOP candidate and attorney Eric Early sat at 5%. A survey from PPIC found Schiff leading Porter 20% to 15%.