Cranston’s Campaign Prospers, May Not Get Finance Panel’s Help

California Sen. Alan Cranston is doing so well raising money for his 1986 reelection campaign that he probably will not get any help from the finance committee set up to help Senate Democrats, according to Sen. George Mitchell of Maine, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

“Alan is doing a great job raising money on his own,” Mitchell said Wednesday at a breakfast with reporters in Los Angeles. “The way things are going, we don’t think we’ll have to provide any campaign funding for him.”

Cranston, one of the most effective fund-raisers in Senate history, said in a recent press conference that he has raised about $3 million for his reelection campaign and expects to need at least $6 million in all. He has no primary challenge, so most of Cranston’s money will be spent after June, when Republican voters choose a candidate to run against him in November.

The Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee expects to provide $1.6 million for Cranston’s opponent, the maximum allowed by law. A spokesman for the Republican committee said recently that most of the $1.6 million will be available to Cranston’s opponent on June 4, the day after the Republican primary.

That would contrast with the 1982 Senate race, when Republican Pete Wilson saw former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. get the jump on him because Brown had money on hand and Wilson had to wait for his check from the Republican committee.

Also, longtime Republican contributor Margaret Brock of Los Angeles said Wednesday that she has formed the California Unity Fund to provide a campaign war chest that will be available to Cranston’s Republican opponent on June 4.

Some political analysts think this year’s Senate race will be the most expensive in California history. The record was set four years ago when Wilson spent $7 million defeating Brown, who spent $5.3 million.

Although Cranston’s campaign has counted on getting some funds from Mitchell’s committee, the senator did not seem alarmed at Mitchell’s statement when informed of it on Wednesday.

Reached in San Francisco where he was meeting with California labor leaders, Cranston said, “If I can get by without help from the campaign committee, of course I would like to because that means the money can be spent in other states to help us win a majority in the Senate. But if I need it I know I will get it.”

Republican Dominance

Mitchell said he expects his committee to raise about $10 million for Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in 1986. He predicted that the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee will raise $100 million for its candidates.

Despite the difference in financial resources, however, Mitchell predicted that the Democrats will pick up the four seats they need to take control of the Senate, which they lost in 1980 after a 26-year domination.

Among the states where he thinks Democrats have the best chance of picking up Republican seats are Florida, where popular Gov. Robert Graham will take on incumbent Sen. Paula Hawkins; Maryland, where longtime Republican Sen. Charles Mathias is retiring; and Idaho, where Gov. John V. Evans is expected to oppose Republican Sen. Steven D. Symms.

Mitchell also likes Democratic prospects in Nevada, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Alabama and Georgia. Democratic senators are giving up their seats in three states, Colorado, Missouri and Louisiana, and Mitchell predicted that “we’ll keep a couple of them” with new candidates.