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There are still five days before voters head to the polls in the June 7 primary election, but if the race for the 46th Congressional District seat were all about money, Lou Correa would have already won in a landslide.
The former Democratic state senator has raised $492,801 through his campaign committee and benefited from an additional $613,834 in outside spending, known as independent expenditures, from the National Association of Realtors Congressional Fund and the Latino Victory Fund.
Meanwhile, former Democratic state Sen. Joe Dunn has raised $386,932; and Garden Grove Mayor Bao Nguyen, also a Democrat, has brought in $134,514.
They are all vying for the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who is running for Barbara Boxer’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
More than 60 political action committees made donations to Correa, including medical industry interests, Chevron, AT&T and campaign committees for Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) and Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park).
Act Blue Technical Services, a Democratic online fundraising platform that relies on small donations, is listed as Correa’s single largest source of funds, with $109,250 in contributions since June 2015.
The vast majority of Dunn’s contributions have come from the legal profession, with $282,750 pouring in from attorneys and law firms. Dunn served as the executive director of the California Bar Association from October 2010 until his contentious firing in November 2014.
Dunn, who was staunchly pro labor during his time in the state Senate, also received $31,150 in contributions from political action committees for several unions, the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education and American Association for Justice.
Nguyen’s support has come from a mixture of local business owners and developers, the Garden Grove Firefighters PAC and Asian American political groups.
Democrats have a nearly 2 to 1 voter registration advantage in the district, which includes Santa Ana, Anaheim, and parts of Garden Grove and Orange. More than two-thirds of the district’s residents are Latino, and more than 40 percent are foreign born.
The only Republican elected official running for the seat is Irvine councilwoman Lynn Schott, who does not live in the 46th District.
In addition to $32,149 in contributions, Schott is financing her campaign with $36,900 in personal and private loans. She has also received money from the campaign committee for Irvine city councilman Jeffrey Lalloway and The Irvine Company Employees political action committee.
Republican Bob Peterson, a commander with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, has raised $16,903 and taken out $9,500 in loans.
Three other candidates, Republican Rodolfo Rudy Gaona, Republican Louie A. Contreras and Nancy Trinidad Marin — who is running with no party preference – have not raised or spent any money, according to their profiles on the Federal Election Commission website.
Contact Thy Vo at tvo@voiceofoc.org or follow her on Twitter @thyanhvo.