Dornan to Wind Up Sanchez Battle With $300,000+ Ad Blitz

Bracing for the final weeks of the fall campaign, former Rep. Robert K. Dornan has $322,399 in his campaign account, funds the Garden Grove Republican plans to spend on a television and direct-mail advertising blitz.

Since July 1, Dornan has raised more than $1.1 million and spent $838,000, according to campaign reports prepared for the Federal Election Commission.

Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who narrowly defeated Dornan two years ago, declined to release copies of her finance reports, citing concerns that releasing the information now could put her at a disadvantage.

“The congresswoman is concerned about how that information would be used by Dornan,” Sanchez campaign chairman Wylie Aitken said. “She said she is going to abide by the law, but she’s not going to be as open about her numbers as she has been in the past.”

Dornan raised his money mainly through a national direct-mail campaign and through newspaper solicitations attacking Sanchez’s character and voting record.

The biggest chunk, though, came from a $320,526 check from the House as reimbursement for his expenses in challenging his narrow election defeat two years ago to Sanchez.

Sources close to the Sanchez campaign said that while Sanchez has continued to raise money, she has taken in considerably less this reporting period than she did in the spring.

Democrats and Republicans have predicted that the two candidates will spend more than $4 million in the fall campaign for the 46th District seat, which could make it the nation’s most expensive House race.

Altogether, Dornan has raised $2.9 million through the end of September and Sanchez had picked up $1.3 million through the end of June.

By law, both candidates were required to mail quarterly reports to the election commission by 5 p.m. Thursday. The reports cover the three-month period that ended Sept. 30.

While such information is commonly released by candidates on the day it is filed, it is not available to the public until received by election officials.

The feinting and dodging over the release of the campaign reports is a sign of the heat in the race over the central Orange County seat.

Republicans and Democrats agree the seat is a key one as the major parties struggle for control of the House of Representatives. Dornan has cast the race as revenge for Sanchez’s 984-vote victory over him two years ago.

Much of Dornan’s money came from a national constituency of conservatives who send money to him in small donations. Most of the money has gone into the cost of managing the fund-raising effort.

But Dornan’s son and campaign manager, Mark Dornan, said the money left gives the campaign the funds “to do what Sanchez thinks we won’t.”

By the end of June, Sanchez had raised more than any congressional Democrat but Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri. She had more than $1 million left to spend over the summer, but has invested heavily since in polling, high-priced campaign consultants, mailers and cable television spots, three of which have aired already.

In another hotly contested congressional race, Democrat Patricia Neal swamped incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) in contributions from July 1 to Sept. 30, according to campaign reports.

Neal reported receiving $82,150 in contributions for the three-month period, compared to $9,175 for Rohrabacher. Neal reported a year-to-date total of $154,454 in contributions, not including a $146,000 loan she made to her campaign. Rohrabacher’s total was $119,642.

In what could be a more crucial measure in the closing weeks of the race, Rohrabacher reported cash on hand of $81,411, while Neal had $83,324.