Four candidates vying for Peninsula seat in Congress have raised hundreds of thousands in heated campaign
With less than a week to go until Peninsula residents rush to the polls for one last chance at casting their ballots, the race to replace retiring Congresswoman Jackie Speier has narrowed to four politicos who have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to sway voters.
California Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Kevin Mullin, San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, and Burlingame Councilmember Emily Beach are the Democratic candidates to succeed Speier, and lone Republican candidate Gus Mattammal is likely to go against one of them in the general election on November 8.
With the June 7 primary closing in, the three Democratic candidates have each spent nearly half a million dollars on their campaigns, boosted by political action committees, unions and wealthy individual donors largely from the tech world.
Since the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) in 2010, elections have become multi-million-dollar efforts as corporations flood races with money to ensure they have a voice in Congress.
In this midterm election, House candidates across the country have raised nearly $1.2 billion for their campaigns, and the Bay Area isn’t immune to that kind of spending. In the race for the 15th congressional district, candidates have raised nearly $2.5 million to fill a rare open seat that Speier has held for more than a decade.
Mullin, who boasts the endorsement of Speier and other top Democrats and is polling as the frontrunner, gave himself about $65,000 for his campaign at the start, but he’s received multiple large donations from unions, tech CEOs and founders, and party fundraising arms like ACT Blue. Throughout the campaign, Mullin raised about $807,693.24 and spent $491,108.66, with expectations of more spending closer to election day.
Mullin has received large donations from unions like Machinists Non-Partisan Political League of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers ($5,000), DRIVE PAC of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ($5,000), and United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club ($5,000). Four other unions also gave Mullin $5,000.
The tech world also showered Mullin with money over the past several months, including the Genentech, Inc. Political Action Committee, a corporate fundraiser for the South San Francisco-based biotech company.
Mullin has also received money from real estate speculators like the Friend family, who run the San Francisco-based real estate company Howard Properties, and he’s received thousands from tech founders and CEOs, most notably $5,800 from Ilya Volodarsky, founder of software company Segment, and $5,800 from ThumbTack CEO Marco Zappacosta.
“I have to raise these funds, but really I would rather be doing anything else,” Mullin said in an interview. “But ultimately we need to have a constitutional amendment that overturns Citizens United.”
Canepa, who is leading a progressive campaign to the left of Mullin and Beach, has raised the second most of any candidate in the race at $672,473.64.
Top contributors to Canepa’s campaign include nearly $35,000 in donations through ACT Blue, thousands from the National Union of Healthcare Workers Federal Committee on Political Education, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC and hundreds of small-dollar donations from Peninsula residents.
He’s received contributions of over $2,000 from physician Kenneth Sim of Diamond Bar, chiropractor Case Terribilini of Santa Cruz and real estate broker Anne Oliva of Millbrae, among others.
“My donors are real people who desire real change in Washington,” Canepa said. “I am not running for Congress to benefit special interests. I’m running to benefit the interests of the residents of California District 15.”
Beach, a U.S. Army veteran, has received thousands from military PACs that support veterans running for public office. The With Honor PAC and VoteVets have given Beach a combined $10,000, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC gave her $5,000.
The rest of the money she has raised comes from individual wealthy voters who have contributed the maximum allowed amount. Donors like Craig Donato, chief business officer for Roblox, Atherton retiree Elizabeth Dixon, Greylock Venture Capital partner James Slavet of Hillsborough and Michael De Anda of De Anda Capital have all given a total of $5,800 each to Beach, and many of their partners and spouses have done the same.
Beach said in an interview she continues to raise money every day, though “it’s too much money” and she wishes “it didn’t have to be so much.” She also advocated for campaign finance reform like other candidates.
“When you think about where those resources can be taken for the greater good, it’s a shame,” Beach said. “We need major campaign finance reform, but at the same time we’re doing what we need to do to win.”
In stark contrast to his Democrat opponents, Republican Mattammal has raised just $37,156 during his campaign and spent almost as much. He said in an interview he expects to ramp up fundraising once he secures a top-two spot in the primary election, a likely outcome considering Republican candidates have eked out a win in recent primaries to go against Democrats in the general election.
Finance disclosures show Mattammal has six contributions over $2,000 from Laura and Dmitri Joukosvkski (Retired and Global Fashion Brands CEO of Templeton), Thomas and Lillian Oliveri (Google Executive and his wife, of Los Altos), Laszlo Bock(Co-founder of HUMU) and Jeffrey Lee (Venture Capitalist at Northern Lights in Menlo Park).
“I’m feeling good about making it to the general, and if I do, fundraising will be robust,” Mattammal said. “It’s always going to be a little uphill for fundraising for a Republican, but at the same time I don’t think I need to match some of what my opponents have raised.”