It’s down to the wire for the primary race for an open Orange County congressional seat that’s commanded national attention from the media and the campaign arms of both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Candidates running for the affluent, coastal 47th congressional district being vacated by Rep. Katie Porter, who is running for U.S. Senate, are hitting the pavement, dropping new ads and raising cash less than a week out from the March 5 primary in an eleventh-hour attempt to make it onto the general election ticket in November.
Porter’s exit has 10 candidates eager to succeed her, including: former GOP Assembly leader Scott Baugh, economics professor Terry Crandall, engineer Tom McGrath, state Sen. Dave Min, engineer Long Pham, real estate broker Boyd Roberts, retired general counsel Bill Smith, business owner Max Ukropina, voting rights advocate Joanna Weiss and security officer Shariq Zaidi.
Stakes are high for this battleground race: CA-47 is one of 37 California seats held by Democrats that the national GOP’s campaign arm sees as a “prime pick up” for Republicans. And it’s labeled by the Democratic Party as a “key to winning a Democratic House majority.”
With less than a week to go until California’s primary election on March 5, how are the candidates spending their time appealing to voters who may still be undecided? Here’s a brief look.
Scott Baugh
It’s business as usual this week for Baugh, who has consistently posted strong fundraising numbers but kept a relatively low profile since announcing his campaign. The former Assemblymember said he’s canvassing in neighborhoods throughout the district, which includes Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and portions of Laguna Beach as well as Costa Mesa and Irvine inland, over the next few days.
On Saturday, Baugh will join several other OC Republican candidates to door-knock in Irvine before a fundraiser on Sunday. Baugh, who has about $1.7 million cash on hand, reported raising $77,732 in the pre-primary period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14.
Walking precincts and knocking on doors gives him a chance to meet constituents where they are, he said.
“You actually get to hear what the constituents are saying and thinking, and sometimes the nuance of how they view an issue,” said Baugh. “They often have unique views or insights that you learn from.”
Three new mailers will land in voters’ mailboxes this week, Baugh said, including one in Newport Beach that highlights local endorsements and a similar one in Huntington Beach.
Earlier this week, Baugh met with GOP Rep. Chip Roy to “learn how he has positioned himself in the caucus as a leader on fiscal issues and get a better understanding of what a winning agenda can be in Congress,” said Baugh. Roy, a three-term Texas congressman, is a House Freedom Caucus member who led Republican demands for steep spending cuts to the federal budget.
Terry Crandall
Crandall, an economics professor and no party preference candidate, said he’s knocking on thousands of doors across the district, sending texts to supporters and holding “office hours” with voters leading up to the primary.
He said he will attend several “Cars and Coffee” events (weekly car shows) over the weekend to meet voters and canvass around 5,000 homes in the district. On Friday at 5 p.m., he plans to be on X Spaces (formerly Twitter) with Gen-Z blogger Holden Culotta to talk about the race and hold virtual office hours, where he invites voters to share feedback about the district.
Earlier this week, Crandall canvassed at UC Irvine and mingled with supporters at a Northwood Little League baseball game.
He reported raising $3,810 in the pre-primary period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14 and has $1,523 cash on hand.
Tom McGrath
McGrath, a chemical engineer residing in Huntington Beach, said he’ll primarily be spending the last campaign week knocking on doors and reaching as many voters as he can.
He sent out a mailer this week that reads, “Are you insane? Or are you voting for independent candidates?” In the mailer, McGrath describes himself as the no party preference candidate with a “moderate blend of fiscally conservative and socially liberal views” and says that a vote for a Republican or Democrat while expecting effective governance is “completely insane.”
“The theme of my campaign is that we need to start passing laws and enacting policies that consider the well-being and prosperity of today’s youth and future generations, for example, greatly reduce federal debt growth and address climate change,” he said. “Unfortunately, we are on a path to unjustly burden future generations.”
He reported raising $2,033 in the pre-primary period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14 and has $5,138 cash on hand.
Dave Min
The lone current elected official running for the seat, Min’s schedule this week looks a bit different from the other candidates. Min, who already represents a wide swath of CA-47 in the state Senate, is zipping back and forth between Sacramento for the legislative session and Southern California for campaign events. He plans to return to Irvine on Thursday and stay until the primary.
On Friday, Min said, he plans to engage with supporters in the district, and on Saturday, he’ll door-knock and host a rally in Costa Mesa with Attorney General Rob Bonta and local Democratic clubs.
A new mailer that highlights Min’s slate of endorsements and his 100% rating from Planned Parenthood hit voters’ mailboxes earlier this week.
“We’re just trying to emphasize my positives; I think we have a strong message,” he said. “And that’s something we want to close with.”
Min, who’s backed by the state Democratic Party and Porter, snagged a couple more endorsements this week, including Emgage PAC, a Muslim civic engagement organization, and Dream for America, a Gen Z-led progressive organization.
He reported reported raising $179,773 in the pre-primary period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14 and has $224,079 still left to spend.
Boyd Roberts
Boyd Roberts, the only candidate in the race to state his opposition to financially supporting Israel as it continues its offensive following the October terrorist attack by Hamas, said he attended a “Free Palestine” rally in San Pedro last weekend.
He could not immediately be reached for further comment about his plans ahead of Tuesday.
Roberts, a Democrat, reported raising $1,507 in the pre-primary period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14 and has a negative cash balance of -$1,607.
Max Ukropina
Republican voters in the district may expect their doors to be knocked on by Ukropina’s campaign this week; Ukropina said volunteers are canvassing in “every city in the district” leading up to the primary.
Ukropina says he’s going into the primary feeling “very confident that we’re going to win.” In the pre-primary period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, he brought in $111,693 and has $158,414 cash on hand.
This week, he’s making his rounds in the district doing meet and greets, and his campaign is sending out thousands of mailers and digital ads that are focused on the border as well as the national debt, he said.
“They’re highlighting my visit when I went down there (to the southern border) in December and how the wide open border affects Orange County,” said Ukropina.
Ukropina hosted a fundraiser in Newport Beach over the weekend with Richard Grenell, who served as the acting director of the National Intelligence in the Trump administration, as a guest. On Tuesday, he attended a candidate meet and greet hosted by the Costa Mesa Republican Assembly.
Joanna Weiss
Weiss has ramped up outreach efforts in the home stretch. On Tuesday, she held a virtual phone bank with OC Supervisor Katrina Foley and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, and she will hold other canvassing events throughout the week, said Mike McLaughlin, a senior adviser to Weiss’ campaign.
On Saturday, Women for American Values and Ethics, founded by Weiss, will host a door-knock and Orange County Young Democrats will do the same on Sunday.
“The people who know her best are out there talking to their neighbors and spreading the word and making sure we have responsible leadership that can be trusted in Washington,” said McLaughlin.
Last week, Weiss was endorsed by the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, formed by the members of the New Democrat Coalition, which includes Reps. Lou Correa and Adam Schiff. McLaughlin said the endorsement signals momentum in the closing days of the race.
In the pre-primary period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, Weiss reported raising $591,083 and has $612,601 cash on hand.
Other candidates
Pham, Smith and Zaidi did not respond to requests for comment about their pre-March 5 plans.
Pham and Zaidi have not reported any fundraising. Smith, in the latest reporting period, raised $15,000 through a personal loan and has more than $7,200 cash on hand.
Source: Orange County Register
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