Who is the new leader in the California Governor’s Game?

For months, the candidate in the campaign to become California’s next governor has been waiting for a key question: Will former Vice President Kamala Harris run?

With Harris’ announcement this week, a new question arose: Who is the leader?

Thanks to Harris’ star power, the answer is far from simple. Other candidates have seen weaker campaign plans and fundraising efforts over the past few months, meaning the match received a big reset after Harris announced the news on Wednesday.

Some political observers pay tribute to former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, who appears to have a calf to his opponent.

Porter is the only Democrat to receive double-digit support in multiple polls when Harris is not included in the field.

Porter, while representing a fundraiser in the Orange County area, reported a large amount of cash injected in the months of the campaign in March and said $250,000 was raised within 36 hours of Harris’ announcement.

“The enthusiasm of donors we see at every level shows that Californians know how important this game is,” Porter said in an email explosion.

Other candidates — including U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration, Xavier Becerra, former California Attorney General — also tried to assert that they were on the rise with the advent of Harris.

“The Becerra campaign builds momentum in the ‘wide open’ competition,” said the subject line of an email sent by the Becerra campaign on Friday, saying he “has a good place to revolve around his plans to make his plans cheaper and easier to access.”

Xavier Becerra, attorney and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, spoke in May at the Labor Caucus at the California Democratic Convention at the Center for the Center for Anaheim Hilton and the Convention Center.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

However, external observers say no candidate stands out at the moment.

“These remaining candidates are fighting for bragging rights, i.e. who might be the leader—that is predictable, but it is ridiculous.” said Garry South, an experienced democracy strategist who has worked in many past governor campaigns, including former government Gov. Gray Davis.

“With Harris opting out, there may be no obvious leader in the rest of the current field for some time,” South said. “None of these candidates started with statewide identification.”

Experts say that with such an open field, factors such as recognition and communication strategies will be important. Candidates’ ability to raise funds and use it to expand their appeal will also be therefore.

“I’m going to start spending money on social media, TV ads, TV ads to build my name ID,” South said. But, currently, no one can do that. ”

Experience and recognition

Will Harris support others as she goes out?

“Obviously, if she does approve it, it would be a big advantage,” said John Pitney, a political professor at Claremont McKenna College.

Harris has a long-term relationship with several candidates in the game. A source familiar with her mind told The Times that Harris succumbed to her still thinking about whether and how to play the governor’s game.

Other recognitions may also affect the competition. Hours after Harris announced the decision, influential former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) appeared on CNN to support Lieutenant Eleni Kounalakis, whom she had known for many years.

“We have many great candidates, especially Eleni Tsakopoulos, whom I support,” Pelosi said.

California Gov. Eleni Kounalakis spoke at the Women’s Caucus in May at the California Democratic Convention at Anaheim Hilton and the Convention Center.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Kounalakis’s father, wealthy developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, helped an independent spending committee to support his daughter’s daughter’s campaign for the governor in 2018. Political observers are watching whether he put money into similar efforts to support her gubernatorial campaign.

Petney said her views “will add a lot of weight” if Pelosi remained the speaker. “It’s not necessarily going to wield most voters,” he said, but it might be important if it sways Bay Area donors.

Pitney, a former Republican legislative aide and NPC staffer, abandoned his membership in the Republican Party, and Trump was elected in 2016.

“I’m hesitant because candidates usually seem to come out of nowhere – like Mandani in New York City,” he said.

Pitney added that experience in government and executive leadership is also important, but layoffs can also be made with candidates when many voters are frustrated and want something new.

Antonio Villaraigosa spoke with the Latino Caucus at the California Convention Centre in May at the Anaheim Convention Centre.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

For example, former state legislator and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the 1970s said: “Obviously, a long history is both advantageous and disadvantageous,” Pitney said.

Villaraigosa said his campaign was “about the future”. But voters “may not see him as a new face,” Pitney said.

Name recognition and money

None of the current gubernatorial candidates have the same profile as Harris. In fact, they are widely unknown among the huge voters.

That means they cut their work for them, i.e., in terms of fundraising, Pitney and South said.

“There is no doubt that Democratic donors have basically been sitting on their waists waiting for what Harris is going to do,” South said.

But, he said, he has not seen any sign that donors have now picked a favorite candidate, and that’s also a problem for candidates with little or no names.

“In the rest of the field, none of these candidates from Harris have enough money in the bank to run statewide campaigns for the governor,” he said.

South said things could change if Kunalakis had a lot of cash from her father again and again patted her personal wealth.

Meanwhile, the splash of household spending could also produce a “huge hit”, especially if Kunalakis’ opponents are upset by it, South said.

“We don’t have people in this state who tend to elect money-making people who try to buy the governor’s race,” he said.

South said he was watching whether the Greater Bay Area donors decided to support Porter “because she was a progressive person.”

Pitney said Los Angeles developer and 2022 mayoral candidate Rick Caruso “may be a force,” because he said, “He has outstanding people in Southern California and has a lot of money.”

Fundraising Report

The latest fundraising report expires Thursday night, which illuminates the candidate’s stock, but until late June, before Harris exits.

As of June 30, Democrats had no potential to self-fund campaign, with millions of dollars in cash, some of which transferred funds from previous campaign committees to governor’s accounts.

Former legislative leader Toni Atkins reported that the campaign had $4.3 million, while raising $648,000, spending $549,000 in the first six months of the year.

Governor candidate Toni Atkins spoke to supporters at the California Democracy Conference held in May at the Anaheim Convention Center.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

Villaraigosa raised $1.1 million and spent $550,000 this year, but reported $3.3 million in cash based on his fundraising campaign last year.

Becerra has raised $2.5 million in the first six months of the year and owned $2.1 million in the bank.

Porter reported that since launching her campaign in March, Porter has raised $2.5 million and spent $449,000. She said she owns $2.1 million in the bank.

Unlike other candidates, Porter’s campaign revealed her fundraising campaign because her documents on the state disclosure website did not show any dollar figures.

Spokesman Nathan Click said her small donors collapsed the state’s system, and they have been working with state officials to display documents on the Secretary of State’s website all day. He said most of Porter’s 34,000 donors donated less than $200.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco reported raising $1.6 million this year and spending $609,000, giving him $1 million in the bank.

Some candidates report mediocre fundraisers, but can draw on their own personal wealth.

Kounalakis raised more than $100,000, nearly tripled its spending in the first half of this year. She has more than $4.6 million in lieu of gubernatorial campaign accounts on hand, although some of the money cannot be transferred due to campaign finance rules.

Stephen J., a businessman with Democrats in Los Angeles, had about $729,000 on hand at the end of the period. He also said he made a $10 million donation on Friday, saying he “turbocharged” his campaign.

Stephen Cloobeck, philanthropist and businessman, posed with supporters after talking about his campaign for California governor at the California Democratic Convention in May at the California Democratic Convention at Anaheim Hilton and the Convention Center.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“One of my many strengths is that I’m not a politician and I’m not compromised,” Crubeck said.

Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host of the Republican candidate, raised about $1.5 million, of which $200,000 was a personal loan. Hilton spent about $1 million, less than $800,000 in the bank.

The lowest end of fundraising is former state controller Betty Yee, who raised nearly $238,000, spent $255,000, and had $637,000 on hand; and state school Tony Thurmond raised about $70,000 on hand, spending about $180,000 on hand, and nearly $560,000 on hand.

Yee and Thurmond both told the Times last month that Democratic donors slowed down their fundraising as Harris waited for Harris to make a decision.