Bush to Visit California for Fundraising

Although his popularity in California may be ebbing, President Bush arrives in Los Angeles today to gather money for his reelection and at least raise the possibility of competing for the nation’s richest electoral prize come November.

Bush’s backers acknowledge that he faces an uphill battle to carry the state in the general election. Polls last week showed him trailing the Democratic front-runner, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, in a state that has spurned the last three Republican presidential candidates.

But Bush is having little trouble finding Californians to write him $2,000 checks.

In a reception at the Shrine Auditorium this afternoon and a luncheon in Silicon Valley on Thursday, Bush expects to add about $1.5 million to his war chest, according to a Republican source. By the end of the trip, he will have raised more than $13.5 million in California in the last nine months.

That’s about three times as many dollars as the number of votes Bush received -- roughly 4.6 million -- when he lost the state to Al Gore in 2000.

Through January, Bush raised $143.5 million nationwide for his reelection.

The president also plans to attend a dinner tonight at the Los Angeles home of Univision Chief Executive A. Jerrold Perenchio, to raise money for the Republican National Committee. Perenchio is a Bush campaign “pioneer,” a fundraiser who has raised at least $100,000 for the effort.

The dinner is to be attended by 100 to 125 people, each of whom has donated the legal limit of $25,000 to the GOP, Republican sources said.

One of Bush’s California donors, who declined to be named, said the president could count on raising whatever he needs from the state. “It’s never tapped out,” the donor said.

Since his reelection committee was formed in May, Bush has made three other fundraising trips to California.

Today’s appearance will be his first since the Nov. 17 inauguration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejuvenated the state Republican Party, giving the president a West Coast ally with star power.

“There is a large amount of money out there for Republicans,” said Carla Eudy, a GOP fundraiser based in Washington. “And having a Republican governor, who seems to be doing a good job, may create even more enthusiasm.”

Schwarzenegger said he planned to meet with the president tonight in Los Angeles. The White House would not elaborate.

In addition to the three fundraisers, Bush plans to give a speech at the Los Angeles Convention Center this afternoon on his initiative to earmark federal contracts for religious organizations that perform social services.

On Thursday morning, he is scheduled to have a “conversation on the economy” with a selected audience in Bakersfield, one of a series meant to tout Bush’s tax cuts and demonstrate his commitment to boosting job growth.

Before he leaves the state, Bush will travel to the Bay Area for a fundraiser at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

Asked whether Bush would address the issue of gay marriage during his trip, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the president would “continue to talk about the importance of defending values that we hold dear in this country.”

Bush is more likely to focus on the tax cuts he signed into law in 2001 and 2003 and the tonic effect he says they have had on the economy.

Ken Lisaius, a White House spokesman, said the new laws lowered federal taxes for an estimated 12.4 million Californians.

Nearly 3.8 million married couples in California, Lisaius said, would benefit from a tax cut aimed at them. In addition, nearly 3 million married couples and single parents would benefit from an expanded child tax credit.

With the tax cuts and with Schwarzenegger’s ascendance, Bush backers contend, the president is positioned to compete in California this fall.

GOP strategists relish the possibility of forcing the Democrats to spend money defending a state they consider an electoral anchor.

“Clearly, we know that it is uphill,” said Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas), a co-chairman of the Bush campaign in California.

“But the president has been very committed to California. He has laid the groundwork, I believe, for a chance for victory in November. He knows how important it is.”

Added Gerald Parsky, chairman of the California Bush campaign: “We expect him to be coming to California often because we believe he has now built very strong support ... not only among Republicans but independents and Democrats.”

This will be Bush’s 16th trip to the state as president, Parsky said.

However, it is too early to say how much of a commitment Bush will make to campaigning in the state.

In 1992, his father essentially ceded California to Bill Clinton. In 1996, Republican nominee Bob Dole made only a token effort here. In 2000, the younger Bush took a shot at the state, but lost by more than 11 percentage points to Gore.

Kerry, who scored a thumping win in California’s primary Tuesday as he moved toward clinching the Democratic nomination, hopes to extend the party’s winning streak in the fall.

Last week, a Times poll found Kerry beating Bush 53% to 40% among registered California voters in a head-to-head matchup.

The Bush campaign will “have to make a long-term judgment about California,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll. “It’s a very expensive state. It’s a huge commitment of resources that could be spent elsewhere.

“But I don’t think the Republican Party in the long run wants to write off California. At some point, you have to compete. This may be that year.”

Times staff writer Joe Mathews in Los Angeles contributed to this report.