U.S. SENATE : Boxer, Feinstein Show Edge in Fund Raising

California Democratic Senate candidates Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer enjoy a substantial fund-raising advantage over their Republican opponents with 18 days to go in the campaign, according to reports released Thursday.

Each candidate had about $1.4 million in her campaign treasury as of Sept. 30. This compared to $462,732 for Feinstein’s opponent, Sen. John Seymour, and $207,642 for Boxer’s opponent, former television commentator Bruce Herschensohn.

Feinstein and Seymour are vying for the two-year Senate seat to fill the term vacated by Gov. Pete Wilson. Boxer and Herschensohn are running for the six-year seat held by retiring Sen. Alan Cranston.

Boxer has been slipping in public polls recently as Herschensohn invested heavily in a television advertising campaign that aggressively attacked the Marin County Democrat for her use of perks in Congress. The finance reports suggest that Boxer will have the wherewithal to finance sustained television ads of her own.

Boxer has spent $6.8 million during her Senate campaign--far more than any other California Senate candidate. Between July 1 and Sept. 30, however, she was outspent by Herschensohn $1,821,730 to $1,612,047.

“Yeah, she gets a little bit of an advantage at the starting gate, but the polls show her dropping very quickly,” said Rick Manter, Herschensohn’s deputy campaign manager. “We are raising money now at a rapid rate.”

Manter said Herschensohn raised $500,000 in the first week of October.

Feinstein raised about $2.1 million between July 1 and Sept. 30, considerably more than Seymour’s $1.2 million. The former San Francisco mayor reported receipts of $275,111 from political action committees between July and September--$27,000 more than Seymour, who has a far higher total overall from special interests.

“We knew we had to combat the huge special interest money (Seymour) gets from his friends like big agribusiness and Realtors,” Feinstein campaign manager Kam Kuwata said. “We knew we had to be a bit more aggressive in that area, so we have.”

Kuwata said that Feinstein’s sizable fund-raising edge and her double-digit lead in the polls are deceptive.

“I’ve always said the race is still on. Seymour still has some financial rainmakers on his side,” he said.

Indeed, both Seymour and Herschensohn are expected to benefit from a commitment of $2.5 million apiece from the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It is uncertain how much money the Democratic Party will deliver to Feinstein and Boxer, though it is expected to be less.

U.S. Senate Campaign Finances

Campaign fund raising and spending documents filed by candidates for California’s two U.S. Senate seats were released Thursday. The reports cover the period July 1 through Sept. 30. SIX-YEAR SEAT TO REPLACE ALAN CRANSTON

7/1-9/30 7/1-9/30 TOTAL CASH RECEIPTS EXPENSES RECEIPTS ON HAND DEMOCRAT Barbara Boxer $2,678,382 $1,612,047 $8,289,683 $1,456,880 REPUBLICAN Bruce Herschensohn 1,964,979 1,821,730 5,475,539 207,642

TWO-YEAR SEAT

7/1-9/30 7/1-9/30 TOTAL CASH RECEIPTS EXPENSES RECEIPTS ON HAND DEMOCRAT Dianne Feinstein 2,097,903 1,262,264 6,608,451 1,408,516 REPUBLICAN John Seymour 1,205,807 1,008,635 5,998,154 462,733

Total figures are for Jan. 1, 1991, to Sept. 30, 1992. Compiled by Times researcher Murielle Gamache