The Assembly race between Republican Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor and Democratic businessman Phu Nguyen became even more expensive in the past two weeks as the two candidates pulled in more than $250,000 combined.
Mansoor scored the most money in the closing days, $143,400, while Nguyen brought in $113,787, including $50,000 he lent his campaign.
On Wednesday, Mansoor asked for financial help from supporters on his Facebook page. “I need your help! I would not be writing you today if that were not the case,” reads the post. Mansoor wrote that he didn’t have the finances to repel the “onslaught of mail and radio.”
“They know I have limited ability to respond to their new last minute attacks without additional funds,” he wrote. Mansoor asked for $10 from each of his supporters and urged them to call five other people and tell them to do the same.
“I am asking each of you for a GRASSROOTS TSUNAMI of support!”
Indeed he did get support, but most of it wasn’t grassroots. His goal was to get $40,000. A day before his Facebook post, he received $35,000 from the California Republican Party.
The day he posted his plea on his page, he got $40,000 from the party. A couple days later, the party gave him another $15,000. Tobacco giant Phillip Morris likes Mansoor too; they gave him $3,900 before his financial plea on Facebook.
Nguyen’s largest last-minute contribution was the $50,000 he lent himself, late finance records show. The Democratic State Central Committee did give Nguyen $5,867 though.
Instead of asking for campaign contributions on Facebook, Nguyen has been asking people to get to the polls. “Here’s what you can do on Nov 2nd: Vote,” Nguyen wrote on his Facebook page.
Nguyen was outspending Mansoor $137,000 to $81,000 from Oct. 1 to 16, the Orange County Register reported. But overall, up to the last two weeks, Mansoor outspent Nguyen $371,000 to $315,000 in the district where registration favors Republicans.