New campaign filings show Larry Elder has surged ahead in fundraising among Republican candidates vying to challenge Gov. Gavin Newsom in the Sept. 14 recall election.
Politico reported the conservative radio personality collected nearly $4.5 million in July, and an additional $440,000 in the early days of August.
The amount has surpassed hauls of rival Republican candidates, reflecting Elder’s rise in the polls since joining the race.
Elder, 69, was a relative latecomer to the field when he declared his candidacy last month. State election officials initially kept Elder off the recall ballot because he failed to file complete tax returns.
Elder fought the exclusion in state court, claiming California elections law only required tax disclosures from candidates in primary races, not recalls. A judge agreed, and Elder was permitted to enter the fray alongside candidates like Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer of San Diego, celebrity athlete Caitlyn Jenner, and conservative political activist John H. Cox.
Despite leading the pack among Republicans, Elder still faces an uphill fundraising battle against Democratic incumbent Newsom. The governor has raised at least $45 million since the start of the year.
Still, a poll co-sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and The Los Angeles Times indicates a tightening margin between Newsom and a hypothetical Republican challenger. Should the poll’s projections prove accurate, Newsom would only defeat recall by a razor-thin three point margin.
Politico’s Jeremy B. White postulated that “while Newsom should benefit from California’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate, his Republican foes are far more motivated to participate.”
That enthusiasm gap puts the recall “within striking distance,” UC Berkeley poll director Mark DiCamillo told Politico.