Democrats Sanchez, Neal Flush With Cash

Continuing to display considerable fund-raising power, Rep. Loretta Sanchez raised and spent more than $225,000 during the six weeks that ended June 30, her office said Tuesday.

The Garden Grove Democrat reported having nearly $1.1 million in cash in her campaign account, according to the semi-annual report to be filed with the Federal Election Commission this week.

In a surprising development, Democrat Pat Neal reported nearly $194,000 in cash in her campaign account at the end of June. Neal, who is challenging Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), has raised more than $72,000 this year but bulked up her campaign account with loans totaling $146,000.

“This report shows we are serious about this campaign, and we are committed to raising the funds to get our message out to the voters,” Neal said.

Information from Rohrabacher and Sanchez opponent Robert K. Dornan were not available. All reports must be postmarked today.

Rohrabacher, who faced weak opposition two years ago, reported $109,000 in cash three weeks before the June 2 primary. His campaign office did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

Dornan, who for years has been able to raise enormous sums through direct mail, reported $64,000 in cash in the mid-May report. Though he has raised about $1.9 million since the 1996 loss to Sanchez, much of that was spend to contest the results of that election and on campaigning for the June primary.