Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi speaks to lawmakers during an Assembly floor session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Oct. 1, 2024. committees are becoming a bigger financial force in legislative campaigns across the state: Since Sept. 1, they have invested $51.5 million. That’s 29% more than over the same period in 2022, when the $40 million spent was 25% more than in 2020 and nearly twice as much as 2018.
The oil industry is the second largest source of independent expenditures, dropping more than $4.7 million through a committee — called the Coalition to Restore California’s Middle Class, Including Energy, Manufacturing and Technology Companies who Produce Gas, Oil, Jobs and Pay Taxes — that hasAnd while the oil industry committee is the second largest spender overall, it’s by far the most generous in the campaign’s final weeks. Since Sept.
The committees have spent in support of 172 candidates, while opposing more than 60. Richardson has been the biggest target, with more than $2.5 million opposing her. She has onlyUber has spent money to support or oppose 26 candidates, including more than $274,000 to support Richardson.