Governor Gives GOP a Boost in ’03 Fundraising

Capitalizing on having Arnold Schwarzenegger in the governor’s office, the California Republican Party raised $13.7 million to the Democratic Party’s $7.5 million in 2003, campaign finance reports filed Monday show.

The Republican fundraising was particularly strong in the fourth quarter after Schwarzenegger ousted Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. The GOP raised $8 million since its last report in October, compared with $3.6 million for Democrats, the Monday filings show.

The Democrats’ showing might have been worse, except that Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), the most influential Democrat in the Legislature, gave $1.4 million to the party from his campaign accounts. Legislative leaders traditionally give large sums to their parties to help pay for campaigns.

The GOP’s good fortune amounts to a turnaround from when Davis was in office. In 2002, the California Democratic Party raised $14.3 million and the GOP $9 million. In 2001, the Democratic Party raised $21.2 million, compared with $15.8 million for the GOP.

“It is a very natural outgrowth of the Republicans gaining the corner office,” Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres said Monday, referring to the governor’s office in the Capitol. He predicted the Democrats would “become more competitive” in the summer when legislative races heat up.

Despite the fundraising imbalance, the Democrats are entering the 2004 election season with more cash -- $7 million compared with the Republicans’ $3.8 million. Republicans spent heavily to help recall Davis and elect Schwarzenegger.

“Clearly, he has had a major impact,” GOP Chairman Duf Sundheim said, adding that Schwarzenegger also is helping not just with fundraising but with party registration.

In addition to the $1.4 million from Burton, Democrats received more than $335,000 in the final quarter of 2003 from organized labor. They received $35,000 from the California Realtors political action committee, $25,000 from Ameriquest Capital Corp. of Orange County and $25,000 from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which owns casinos in and near Palm Springs.

The Republicans had not filed their complete year-end report by Monday evening but provided a summary page showing the overall amounts donated and spent. The summaries confirmed what party executives had told The Times last month when they predicted that the GOP would raise more than the Democrats.

Sen. Don Perata (D-Oakland), one of the Democrats’ main fundraisers, predicted that donors would return to the party as Schwarzenegger’s budget proposals became clearer.

“We will be the last line of defense,” Perata said. But he also acknowledged that Schwarzenegger has fast become a political force.

“Arnold Schwarzenegger has got all the candlepower right now,” Perata said. “He is the newest and freshest thing California has seen in a generation. This business tends to follow the leader. He is the leader, and the money follows.”

In other filings of note, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, owners of a casino in Temecula in Riverside County, reported having spent $6.6 million on campaigns in 2003, and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, owners of a casino in Alpine in San Diego County, spent almost $2.1 million.

The tribes spent most of their money trying to block Schwarzenegger from winning the recall election, with most of it going to help Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante’s failed campaign to replace Davis.