Devin Nunes’ opponent has raised big money this year. Nunes is millions ahead
Rep. Devin Nunes’ Democratic opponent had a great fundraising quarter for a first-time candidate trying to make an impression while many voters are thinking about the coronavirus outbreak.
But Nunes’ fundraising is hard to beat.
Phil Arballo, a Democratic financial adviser trying to take Nunes’ San Joaquin Valley seat, raised just more than $700,000 in the first quarter of the year. Arballo has raised a total of nearly $1.8 million so far this election cycle.
But Nunes hauled in $4 million in the first quarter of 2020, according to the Washington Examiner, citing a source within Nunes’ campaign.
That’s almost double what Nunes raised in the previous quarter.
Including the $4 million, Nunes has raised a total of about $13.5 million for the cycle so far.
Nunes has a national reputation as a close ally to President Donald Trump, and Nunes has used his position on the House Intelligence Committee to challenge investigations into Trump’s administration.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a well-known political prediction site run by Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia, recently rated the district as “safe Republican,” a change in Nunes’ favor from its rating as “likely Republican.”
Arballo’s campaign still thinks it has a chance to flip the red district.
“No amount of money can buy Congressman Nunes a new reputation,” said Taylor Bollhagen, Arballo’s campaign manager. “That shows in the comments that you see in the district about him this year.”
Nunes’ fundraising reports have not yet been posted to the Federal Election Commission website.
First elected in 2002, Nunes had his closest election in 2018 when Democrat Andrew Janz raised $9 million to challenge him. Nunes won by 5 percentage points in an election that centered on Nunes’ support for Trump.
Arballo has about $276,000 in cash on hand at the end of the quarter. He’s using some of his campaign funds to support hospital workers. On Friday, he and his campaign plan to deliver 100 meals from The Local in Old Town Clovis to the Clovis Community Medical Center Emergency Department and 100 burritos from Chapala Grill to Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia.
Nunes had $7.2 million in the bank at the end of 2019. Nunes’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 5:30 PM.
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