State Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham’s re-election campaign has raised roughly three times the amount of challenger William “Bill” Ostrander, campaign filings show, with a significant chunk of Cunningham’s support last month coming from political action committees and big-name corporations.
The fundraising edge has helped Cunningham build a formidable war chest that’s approaching $300,000, far exceeding Democrat Ostrander, who has less than $10,000 in cash on hand.
However, in the last filing period, Ostrander raised roughly twice as much as Cunningham from individual district residents, according to financial statements submitted by the campaigns Thursday.
Both Cunningham, a Templeton attorney and former San Luis Obispo County deputy district attorney, and Ostrander, an actor and San Luis Obispo activist focused in large part on campaign reform, will be on the Nov. 6 general election ballot for the 35th State Assembly district that encompasses San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County.
Cunningham, a Republican, took office in 2016.
On Thursday, both candidates submitted their latest round of campaign financial disclosures to the California Secretary of State.
In the latest filing period — April 22 through May 19 — Cunningham raised $63,080 (including $17,730 in nonmonetary donations), for a total of $190,900 raised this year. He spent $76,001 this period and a total of $169,054 for the year. He has $286,584 cash remaining on hand, not including $14,420 in outstanding debt.
Cunningham’s campaign contributions last period include $7,750 from 15 individuals, 14 of whom are residents of the 35th Assembly District.
Donations to his campaign last period include $20,300 from at least 13 local and non-local political action committees, such as the Lincoln Club of San Luis Obispo County, the Home Builders Association of the Central Coast PAC, the California Restaurant Association, the California Construction Employers Association PAC and the California Bankers Association PAC.
He received $12,000 from eight corporations last period, including Visa, Tenet Healthcare Corp., FedEx and Charter Communications.
Ostrander began the filing period with $17,795 and raised $18,277 through May 19, including $1,745 in nonmonetary contributions, for a total of $63,260 raised this year. He spent $14,282 this period and for a total of $54,568 for the year. As of May 19, he had $9,829 remaining in cash, not including $925 in outstanding debt.
Ostrander’s contributions last period include donations from at least 37 individuals totaling $16,031, including one from outside the district. Notable contributors include former San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Jim Patterson and actor and Santa Margarita resident Ted Levine.
None of Ostrander’s cash contributions last period came from political action committees,though Arroyo Grande-based company Ghigo Press, an online wine events calendar and blog, donated $400. In addition, the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party picked up a $1,402 tab for postage costs and Long Beach firm Gould & Orellana, LLC reportedly contributed $343 in campaign financial reporting services.
Campaign dollars in the 2016 Assembly race between Cunningham and Democrat Dawn Ortiz-Legg reached into the seven figures — thanks largely to late support by the Democratic Party for Ortiz-Legg — though Cunningham raised nearly $1 million throughout the entire race.
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