Adam Schiff’s Censure Fuels Record Fundraising for His Senate Bid While Retreads Gear Up for Comeback House Bids

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) used his Congressional censure to fuel a record-breaking Senate fundraising quarter as other Democratic Senate candidates pulled in huge sums.

Summary

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) used his Congressional censure to fuel a record-breaking Senate fundraising quarter as other Democratic Senate candidates pulled in huge sums. On the House side, several defeated candidates in both parties are gearing up for comeback bids.

• Just as some observers predicted, the censure of Adam Schiff has proved to be rocket fuel for his Senate campaign in California.
• Schiff raised $8.1 million in Q2, a massive haul that puts him at the front of the pack in the race to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
• Schiff began fundraising off his censure before the vote, sending nearly 20 fundraising emails just in the time between when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) first introduced her censure resolution on May 24 and the vote on June 21.
• The California Congressman held a narrow lead in the most recent Emerson poll of the California Senate race. Schiff garnered 15% of the vote, ahead of progressive Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) with 14% with Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) trailing with 6% of the vote.
• On the House side, two candidates who lost decisively in 2022 are gearing up for comeback bids.
• Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) announced his campaign for New York’s 17^th District in the Hudson Valley, currently held by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY).
• Jones previously represented NY-17 before abandoning the seat last cycle to run for the safely Democratic Manhattan-based 10^th District, only to finish third in the Democratic primary to now-Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY).
• Republican Darren Bailey, fresh off a 12-point drubbing in the 2022 Illinois gubernatorial race, has turned his sights on a fellow Republican.
• Bailey plans to resurrect his political career by targeting Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL). Bost is a five-term incumbent whose reelection campaign was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who called Bost a “terrific representative.”

• Schiff’s fundraising far outstripped several incumbent Senate Democrats running for reelection in swing states, as Axios noted. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) raised $3.2 million, and Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) raised $4 million, and Schiff outraised both combined.
• NBC News observed Schiff’s Democratic rivals haven’t announced their fundraising totals yet. Porter raised $9.5 million and Lee raised $1.2 million in the first quarter, but both women will need to significantly up their fundraising to keep up with Schiff.
• The Washington Post reported that Schiff had more than 144,000 individual donors in the second quarter, with 98% of his contributions for $200 or less. The average contribution was $34, an indication that Schiff’s bid has garnered widespread support from grassroots Democrats.

• Fox News noted Schiff’s fundraising haul – the most any Senate campaign has ever raised in an off-year – comes after he also raised a sizable $6.5 million in the first quarter. The Burbank-area Congressman has $29 million cash on hand, a tremendous advantage in an expensive state like California. 
• Rep. Collin Allred (D-TX) hauled in $6.2 million for his campaign to defeat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Washington Examiner reported. Allred launched his bid in May and raised a total of $8.6 million in the second quarter after he transferred $2.4 million from his previous House account.
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette covered another sizeable fundraising quarter for a Democratic Senate candidate. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) raised $4 million, the three-term senator’s best fundraising quarter ever. Casey is expected to face a credible general election foe in likely GOP candidate Dave McCormick, the runner-up in the 2022 GOP Senate primary.

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© Dominic Moore, 2023