Denham’s net worth becomes issue in House race

Critics in the Democratic Party say Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, supports billionaire Donald Trump for president because his own net worth has grown to as much as $27.9 million during his tenure.

But the math is squishy, given how members of the U.S. House of Representatives disclose their finances in the annual reports. They only have to say where they fall within various ranges, and the ranges can be big.

The incumbent’s largest asset is his co-ownership of Denham Plastics, a Salinas-based provider of containers for harvesting and shipping produce. He valued the company at $1 million to $5 million in 2011, his first year in Congress. The 2012 report moved it to the $5 million-to-$25 million range, where it has remained.

Denham reported smaller ranges for his almond farm near Atwater, other real estate and several investment funds. His total net worth in 2015 fell somewhere between $6.4 million and $27.9 million.

Democratic challenger Michael Eggman has emphasized the upper end of that range as he tries to unseat Denham in the 10th Congressional District.

“I’m trying to give the working people who are left behind a voice,” Eggman said at his Modesto campaign office Monday. “The people Denham wants to give a voice to are millionaires like himself and billionaires like Donald Trump.”

Denham responded to the charge after a rally Thursday at his own campaign office that featured House Speaker Paul Ryan.

“I think it’s ridiculous and certainly disappointing that you would criticize anybody for trying to create more jobs in our local community,” Denham said. He added that both the plastics company and the farm are small ventures, and his condominium in Washington, D.C., is all of 900 square feet.

Denham used to live in Salinas and represented a state Senate district that stretched from that area to the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

The House district takes in Stanislaus and southern San Joaquin counties. It has become a priority as the Democrats try to cut into the Republicans’ 58-seat House margin in the Nov. 8 election.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a series of ads about Denham’s net worth and support for Trump. Among other things, the billionaire has boasted on videotape about groping women and called for a ban on Muslim immigration.

Denham, in a guest opinion for The Modesto Bee, said he was offended by Trump’s rhetoric but prefers him to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Eggman also has faulted Denham for helping Trump obtain a lease that led to the conversion of the Old Post Office in Washington into a luxury hotel. It was one of many surplus federal properties under review by a Denham-chaired subcommittee.

An Eggman news release said Trump got “a sweetheart deal” for the hotel, which had its grand opening Wednesday. It did not mention that the Obama administration supported the 2013 agreement, which one official said “will save millions of taxpayer dollars while restoring a unique and important historic asset.”

The Eggman campaign also announced an endorsement this week from President Barack Obama.

“Michael is the kind of tough and smart leader who will build on all we’ve accomplished and take our nation forward, and that’s why I know Californians can count on Michael Eggman,” Obama said in a prepared statement.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Denham’s net worth becomes issue in House race."