Donations Run High in Wright Race : Campaign: Assembly incumbent Cathie Wright has raised 2 1/2 times more money than her opponent in the Republican primary, Hunt Braly.

In an early test of strength in what is likely to be one of California’s hardest fought Republican primary elections this year, Assemblywoman Cathie Wright of Simi Valley raised more than 2 1/2 times as much money in 1989 as her challenger, Hunt Braly.

Wright, who is seeking a sixth term in the GOP-dominated 37th Assembly District, raised $232,000 last year, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday. Braly, chief aide to state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), reported taking in $89,000.

The semiannual campaign statements, which itemize contributions and spending, also showed Wright outspent Braly by 5 to 1 in advance of the June 5 primary, expected to be one of only a handful of seriously contested GOP primaries in the state. Wright spent nearly $126,000 last year while Braly paid out $21,000.

During the last six months of 1989, Wright received $26,500 from political action committees representing state-regulated industries and interests, her report said. She sits on several Assembly committees known as “juice” committees because their members tend to attract large campaign contributions from special interests.

Among the PACs that gave Wright money were those representing dentists, racehorse owners, trucking companies, gun owners, fertilizer manufacturers, pharmacists and independent oil dealers.

Wright also received $16,150 from large corporations, including Rockwell International and Dow Chemical Co., her report indicates. Real estate and development interests gave her at least $14,800.

The biggest chunk of special-interest contributions to Braly came from developers, contractors and real estate agents, who gave $5,500 during the last half of 1989, his report showed. Second were lawyers, who contributed $4,750.

Braly’s campaign also received $4,000 from various family members and another $4,000 from executives of a Michigan-based health spa firm whose president, Braly said, is a longtime supporter of Sen. Davis.

Wright spokesman Carlos Rodriguez said that as a result of Wright’s fund-raising efforts “it appears that Cathie has a much stronger lead.”

“Hunt Braly has been boasting about all the money he’s raising,” Rodriguez said. “We don’t ever boast about raising money. We just raise it.”

But Braly said Wright’s heavy money advantage was irrelevant to his campaign, adding that he expects to raise $200,000 before the primary election. “We’ll have more than enough resources to go out and discuss the issues and let people know where I stand,” he said.

Braly also criticized Wright for taking so much money from special-interest PACs, saying he is proud of running a locally based campaign.