NEWS

Voter’s Edge: California Senate District 34

Bret Hendry | November 01, 2014

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October 31, 2014 -- California Republicans have zeroed in on Senate District 34, which may be their best chance to prevent Democrats from regaining a supermajority in the Senate.  The state party has contributed $187,661 to controversial Republican candidate Janet Nguyen, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors.   In 2011, Nguyen joined the board of CalOptima, Orange County’s health insurer for low income families, and used her position to restructure the organization in favor of hospitals and other providers.  She subsequently received an uptick in contributions from the health care industry.  Nguyen also voted to approve $300,000 worth of contracts for an attorney who had contributed $1,800 to her campaign for supervisor. In her bid for state Senate, Nguyen has raised $927,800, and her top contributors include the Building Owners and Managers Association International ($16,400) as well as aerospace company Boeing ($10,700).

Her opponent, former Democratic Assemblymember Jose Solorio, trailed Nguyen by a significant margin in the primary, but contends he saved most of his $594,400 in campaign funds for the general election. Solorio’s top contributors include the California Democratic Party ($20,664), as well as the Laborers’ International Union of North America ($30,075) and the Service Employees International Union ($29,700).

Editor's Note: If you use MapLight data, please cite us. MapLight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that reveals money's influence on politics.

Methodology: MapLight analysis of campaign contributions to the primary controlled committees associated with candidates on California's November ballot from January 1, 2013 - September 3, 2014. Top contributor figures are based on itemized records, aggregated by employer for individual donors and by affiliate organization for political action committees. Total raised figures are based on summaries submitted by candidate committees in Form 460 reports. All numbers are based on latest data made available by the California Secretary of State as of September 3, 2014.

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