SD-37: Moorlach Leads Wagner in Fundraising and Cash on Hand
Posted by Chris Nguyen on February 2, 2016
Senator John M. W. Moorlach and Assemblyman Donald P. Wagner
Well, campaign finance figures for the second half of 2015 are out, and OC Political will be doing our signature in-depth slicing and dicing of campaign finance numbers in the coming days, as we’ve done in prior elections. First up is the 37th Senate District, where Assemblyman Don Wagner (R-Irvine) is seeking to unseat Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa).
Moorlach surpassed expectations in fundraising, bringing in $128,754 in new contributions in the last six months of 2015. During the same period, Wagner raised $6,700 in new contributions, with $3,000 coming from Facebook.
Moorlach had $45,765 in expenditures. Wagner had $29,006 in expenditures, of which $16,500 went to a poll with Competitive Edge Research. It should be noted Wagner transferred the same amount, $16,500, from his Assembly account to his Senate account on December 23.
Moorlach has $19,772 in unpaid bills, of which $12,350 is owed to Tim Clark, the consultant on his Senate race who is now his chief of staff. Wagner has no unpaid bills.
Moorlach had $105,225 cash on hand. However, if he were to pay his unpaid bills, that would leave $85,453 in Moorlach’s cash on hand. Wagner’s cash on hand at $59,094, assuming he were to transfer his Assembly and Attorney General accounts into his Senate account. With $85,453, Moorlach’s cash on hand is $26,359 higher than Wagner’s.
For visual learners:
| Candidate | 6/30/15 Cash Balance |
Contributions | Transfers In | Unpaid Bills |
Expenditures | Transfers Out | Cash on Hand (COH) |
COH Minus Unpaid Bills |
|||
| Moorlach for Senate | $22,236 | $128,754 | $0 | $19,772 | $45,765 | $0 | $105,225 | $85,453 | |||
| Wagner for Senate | $10,090 | $3,750 | $16,500 | $0 | $23,221 | $0 | $7,119 | $7,119 | |||
| Wagner for Assembly | $71,347 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $5,785 | $16,500 | $49,061 | $49,061 | |||
| Wagner for Attorney General | $2,980 | $2,950 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2,914 | $2,914 | $2,914 | |||
| Notes: Figures may be off by one dollar due to rounding. | |||||||||||
In fairness to Wagner, he had not yet announced his bid for Senate in 2015. I can only assume he made the decision after conducting that Competitive Edge Research poll.
OC Political 
OC Politics Blog | Don Wagner’s State Senate campaign has only $7,119 cash on hand said
[…] bringing in $128,754 in new contributions in the last six months of 2015, according to the OC Political blog. And he is raking in all of the endorsements […]