Both Democrats in California’s suddenly high-profile U.S. Senate race are getting a little outside help in what could be a hugely expensive campaign.
One day after state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León launched his insurgent bid to unseat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, political consultants unveiled two new Super PACs supporting each candidate in the race.
The rival PACs are prohibited from coordinating with the candidates, but they can raise unlimited sums of money and flood advertising across the state. And the speed at which the groups kicked off is a sign of how important Super PACs have become in modern American politics.
The pro-De León PAC, “A Progressive California,” quickly premiered a digital video ad Monday portraying De León as a leader of “the resistance against Donald Trump in California.”
“Kevin de León has for years demonstrated a strong record of leadership on behalf of California,” said Democratic consultant Maclen Zilber. “California needs a strong progressive voice, and we felt that we wanted to do what we could to help him get elected.”
Zilber and his partner, Dave Jacobson, who are based in Los Angeles, worked on De León’s 2014 state Senate re-election campaign. Zilber and Jacobson say they plan to produce online videos targeted at voters and state Democratic Party delegates — and could expand to television advertising later in the race.
A few hours after their ad went up, SCN Strategies, a prominent San Francisco political consulting firm, announced it was launching its own pro-Feinstein Super PAC, “Fight for California.”
“We see the highest ranking woman in the U.S. Senate under attack by political opportunists, and we are determined to fight just as hard for her as she fights for California,” said Sean Clegg, one of the committee’s strategists. “We’re ! looking to run an effective and aggressive independent expenditure campaign.”
SCN’s clients include Sen. Kamala Harris, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, and former Sen. Barbara Boxer, all of whom have endorsed Feinstein. The firm also represents Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not made an endorsement in the race but is seen as more likely to back Feinstein, who officiated his 2005 wedding.
“These aren’t mom-and-pop Super PACs, these are set up by professionals,” said Jennifer Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School. Increasingly, she said, groups like these operate as “shadow campaigns” that amplify candidates’ messages with only a “thin veneer” of independence.
Statewide campaigns in California are notoriously expensive — candidates who run TV advertisements across the state, for example, can expect to burn through four to five million dollars a week, political strategists say. Federal campaign contribution limits are also significantly lower than state limits, which makes it harder for candidates to quickly raise money.
Feinstein had $3.6 million cash on hand as of June 30, according to federal campaign finance records. De León, on the other hand, has to start from scratch.
He has more than$3 million holed up in state campaign committees, but he can’t transfer those funds to his campaign for federal office. Some Democratic donors may also be reluctant to support a challenge to a powerful incumbent.
Some of Feinstein’s allies worry that her biggest threat is not De León but Tom Steyer, the San Francisco philanthropist and environmental activist who has said he’s also considering a Senate run. Steyer, a billionaire, would be able to use his own vast personal fortune, changing the calculus of what’s spent in the race. Joe Sanberg, a wealthy Los Angeles entrepreneur, is also considering jumping in.
Feinstein, whose net worth is estimated to be at least $52 million, could also tap into her own fortune if the campaign gets tough. She hasn’t faced a truly competitive race since 1994, when she squared off with Republican Congressman Michael Huffington.
“Most people in California can’t remember a time when she wasn’t an elected official, and that means she has a very broad and deep donor base,” Levinson said. “Anybody going up against that faces an uphill battle.”