Loretta Sanchez raises nearly $1 million for U.S. Senate bid, trailing rival Kamala Harris

Reporting from Sacramento —  Rep. Loretta Sanchez reported raising almost $1 million in contributions this year for her U.S. Senate campaign, well behind the $6 million that her chief Democratic rival, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, has collected for the race, according to financial filings released Thursday.

Sanchez, a Garden Grove Democrat, received $400,000 in campaign contributions in the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, and she loaned her campaign $300,000. Her campaign spent $233,829 during that period, leaving her with $1.6 million cash on hand.

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FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version of this post said that Kamala Harris reported $2.9 million cash on hand. The amount is $3.3 million.

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Earlier this year, Sanchez transferred $516,114 to the Senate campaign that she had initially raised to run for reelection to the House, according to federal election records.

The congresswoman’s campaign manager, Tim Allison, emphasized the strides that Sanchez has made since she launched her campaign in May. Recent opinion polls have Sanchez second in the race. Under California’s “top-two” primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary face off in the November election, regardless of party.

“We continue to run an efficient campaign and are gaining ground with each poll that is taken. We are in a strong position to finish in the top two in June and win in November,” Allison said in a statement.

Sanchez received the strongest financial backing from supporters in Southern California, including SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Susan Samueli of the Samueli Foundation. Most of her expenditures were for campaign consultants and fundraising.

Harris reported $3.3 million cash on hand at the end of the reporting period, along with more than $401,000 in unpaid bills.

Harris also reported a much faster rate of spending than Sanchez. The attorney general spent more than $1.4 million in three months, while Sanchez spent just more than $233,829.

Sanchez and Harris are leading contenders in the June 2016 primary to succeed Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer, who is not seeking reelection.

Republicans running for the seat include Assemblyman Rocky J. Chavez of Oceanside and two former state Republican Party chairmen, George “Duf” Sundheim and Tom Del Beccaro, who both live in the Bay Area.

Sundheim reported raising $241,000 with $130,345 cash on hand and Chavez reported raising $93,579 this year and having $9,528 cash on hand. Del Beccaro reported raising $145,142, with $55,272 still in the bank.

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