L.A. mayoral, California House races soak up money and attention from political newcomers:
* The California U.S. House race to hold a seat held by retiring U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is now the most expensive House race. In the last fundraising quarter, Republican state Assemblyman Travis Allen raised $5.3 million and incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) raised $4.7 million, according to Federal Election Commission data. But the race has attracted money from Democratic upstarts such as attorney and businessman Eric Swalwell, Democratic activist Jon Ossoff, and social media strategist Dan Rolston, among others.
* In New York, the race to replace outgoing Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) will be the focus of another major Democratic campaign cash infusion. The New York Daily News reported on Monday that billionaire Democratic donor George Soros lent his voice to a new super PAC that will try to oust the congressman from his 2nd Congressional District seat. The super PAC and its leader is Tony Bennett, an attorney and longtime backer of Democratic causes. Soros has already donated $250,000 to the PAC, which will run ads in key congressional districts.
* After Democrats spent heavily over the last year to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) from the Senate, the party is trying to take aim at Trump via the House special election for a U.S. House seat in Texas. Republican Rep. Will Hurd is attempting to unseat Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro in the GOP primary. Trump has endorsed Hurd, calling him a “great champion for a lot of the Republican agenda.” And after Trump’s national GOP endorsed Hurd in the race, the president tweeted, “The people of Texas will have an extraordinary opportunity to put a big Democrat in the Senate. Congree!”
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders around the country are also spending heavily on local races. In New York, U.S. House candidate Zephyr Teachout raised $1.5 million from her $40,000-per-quarter