Republican outsiders pour millions into Denham campaign

Rep. Jeff Denham reported about $650,000 in donations in the third quarter, while Democratic challenger Josh Harder collected about $3.5 million.

Harder is challenging Denham for a House seat in the 10th congressional district, which voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.

The fundraising difference is one of the most significant between candidates among several toss-up House races in California. That’s why Republican groups are flooding the district with last-minute advertising buys to make up the difference. They’re eager to defend a seat regarded as a toss-up.

“Clearly someone on the Republican side took a poll and said, ‘Hey, we need to take some action,’” said Ron Nehring, former California Republican Party chairman and political strategist.

Tuesday, the day after campaign fundraising numbers went public, the chief fundraising arm of the congressional GOP, the National Republican Congressional Committee, announced an ad against Harder that is slated to run for two weeks in the district and cost an estimated $800,000. It calls Harder a “Pelosi liberal” and attacks his health care stances. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, is House Democratic leader.

Before that ad was booked, the NRCC had spent about $10,000 in the district against Harder, and spent no money in direct support of Denham, according to Open Secrets, a nonpartisan campaign finance research group.

Jack Pandol, an NRCC spokesman, said the group is planning to spend a total of about $1.4 million in the district from this week until the election.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a fundraising arm of House Republican leadership, is slated to spend about $3.3 million in the district, most against Harder. Those ad reservations started in mid-September, according to Courtney Alexander, spokeswoman for the Congressional Leadership Fund.

Denham also received $73,000 last quarter from Protect the House, a Republican Super PAC. Sal Russo, a Republican political strategist in California, said such groups are constantly moving money around as they strategize the best way to hold onto the House.

But a move like that in Denham’s district suggests the groups felt they needed to make sure the incumbent had enough money so his message wouldn’t get drowned in Harder ads.

“You don’t always need more money (than your opponent), but you need enough to effectively spread your message,” Russo said.

Both Denham’s and Harder’s campaigns were the beneficiaries of significant amounts of spending from outside the district last quarter. Harder received about $116,000 from in-district donations, about 3.3 percent of his funding last quarter, while Denham received about $55,000 in in-district donations, about 8.5 percent of his funding.

Harder’s most significant sources of funding are from the Bay Area, with more than $1.6 million coming from donors in places such as San Francisco, Palo Alto and Oakland. He also received more than $600,000 from donors in the state of New York.

“It’s obvious where Josh Harder’s priorities lie, with Bay Area liberals who are pumping millions of dollars in to his campaign,” Denham said in a statement.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democrats’ fundraising arm, has spent about $1.6 million so far in the race against Denham and in support of Harder.

Denham’s most significant source of funding was from the Washington, D.C., metro area, about $160,000. That’s about a quarter of his fundraising for last quarter.

Pres. Donald Trump’s campaign contributed $2,000 to Denham on Aug. 16. Denham this term has voted for Trump policies 97.8 percent of the time.

Harder has called Denham a lapdog for the GOP, but has largely avoided evoking Trump in political ads attacking the incumbent.

Denham’s longtime alliance with American Indian groups continues, with seven tribes donating a combined $16,500 in the last quarter. The National Rifle Association also gave the incumbent $2,500.

Modesto Bee staff writer Garth Stapley contributed to this report.

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 3:42 PM.