Kashkari raises $1.3 million for gubernatorial bid

GOP gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari has raised $1.3 million in the two months since he kicked off his campaign and has about $900,000 in the bank, according to disclosures filed with the state on Monday.

Kashkari’s campaign wants to raise several million dollars before the June election, to pay for television ads aimed at state voters. If the former U.S. Treasury official continues to raise money at his current clip -- averaging $162,500 per week -- that goal appears to be out of reach.

The candidate’s fundraising has dropped off sharply after an initial burst when he announced his bid in January. After raising $1 million in his first two weeks as a candidate, Kashkari raised $300,000 over the next six weeks.

In the same eight-week period, Kashkari spent about $430,000, with nearly half of the money paying for consultants and campaign worker salaries. He has about $94,000 in unpaid bills.

Many of the largest donors in Kashkari’s report had ties to the banking and finance industries in which he formerly worked. His old boss, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and his wife each contributed the maximum allowed contribution, $27,200. Several contributors are associated with Goldman Sachs, where Kashkari worked before joining the Treasury Department.

A handful of big-name establishment donors are listed in the report, including former Univision chairman Jerry Perenchio, News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch and Craig McCaw, who served as a bundler for 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The critical question for Kashkari’s chances in June is whether more such donors jump on board before he competes against GOP Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and others in June’s “top two” election.

The top two vote-getters will face off in November.

Donnelly, from San Bernardino County, has lagged in fundraising; his financial reports were expected to be filed later Monday, when all candidate reports are due.

Brown reported Friday that he had nearly $20 million in the bank.

Twitter: @LATSeema

seema.mehta@latimes.com