Carl DeMaio isn’t a candidate, but he’s staying in the political game with his endorsement of a fellow pension-reformer in a tough race north of San Diego.
“A key race for California State Senate will happen (March 16) in Orange County,” DeMaio said in a statement Wednesday. “I’m writing because it is imperative that my good friend John Moorlach win this key election.”
Calling Moorlach “the real deal,” the former San Diego councilman and failed candidate for mayor and Congress said: “He helped save Orange County after the bankruptcy. I have seen even some Republicans bow to the demands of the government union bosses, taking their campaign cash and returning the favor by voting to give them our tax dollars. Not John Moorlach. He stands up for us taxpayers.”
DeMaio called for contributions to Moorlach’s campaign and pointed to this link.
Money may be more important than endorsements for Moorlach, who also posted an ad (above) Wednesday, attacking Republican rival Don Wagner in the currently vacant 37th District.
According to the Orange County Register, Wagner has raised four times as much as Moorlach.
Moorlach consultant Tim Clark acknowledged last month that the campaign would be outraised by Assemblyman Wagner. But he said that given Moorlach’s superior name ID, $200,000 in fundraising would be enough to prevail.
As of Thursday’s filings covering fundraising through February, Moorlach had raised just $108,000 to Wagner’s $371,000. Moorlach had $8,000 more debt than cash on hand, while Wagner had $118,000 remaining in his treasury.
The Register also said Wagner has $161,000 in independent expenditures – money spent by special interests on Wagner’s behalf, independent of his campaign.
“There has been no independent spending for Moorlach,” the newspaper said.
