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Analysis: Rohrabacher’s Dem Opponents Fight About Who Raised More Money

It’s a matter of interpreting the data

Harley Rouda, Democratic challenger to GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, CA-48, is interviewed by CQ Roll Call at their D.C. office, April 25, 2017. (Thomas McKinless/CQ Roll Call file photo).
Harley Rouda, Democratic challenger to GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, CA-48, is interviewed by CQ Roll Call at their D.C. office, April 25, 2017. (Thomas McKinless/CQ Roll Call file photo).

Two Democrats running to challenge Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in California’s 48th District are in a dispute about who actually raised more money.

 

On Monday, Harley Rouda, a businessman from Southern California, claimed in a release that his campaign raised “more than all 5 other Democrats combined.”

 

Rouda claimed he raised $319,334 since he announced in March, and said “he continues to be the most formidable challenger to incumbent Dana Rohrabacher.”

 

But Rouda’s challenger Hans Keirstead’s campaign disputed the statistic, and said in the most recent finance quarter, that Keirstead outraised Rouda.

 

The dispute comes down to the timeline of raising money. Keirstead’s campaign said he raised more than the other candidates for the most recent fundraising quarter — Keirstead’s first.

 

His latest Federal Election Commission report showed he raised $13,8504.29 and had $135,395.73 in cash on hand.

 

The most recent fundraising quarter of 2017 is Rouda’s second fundraising quarter.

 

When he first announced in March, Rouda said he raised more than $100,000 in his first twelve days. Rouda would go on to raise $215,257.69 by the end of that quarter.

 

But this most recent quarter, Rouda had a total of $103,076.21 in net contributions and $177,974.10 in cash on hand.

 

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