Butler Trounces Bloom in Campaign Spending

Assemblywoman Betsy Butler raised $269,806 in contributions during the last leg of her primary campaign, surpassing by more than four-fold the amount garnered by her opponent, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom, in the race for the 50th Assembly District.

In the one-month reporting period between May 20 and June 30, Bloom collected $61,505, trailing Butler by more than $200,000. She has raised $611,953 in cash and other contributions this calendar year and spent just shy of $900,000, leaving her with $155,887 cash on hand, according to reports filed Tuesday.

Bloom—who came in second behind Butler by a mere 137 votes in the June 5 primary—has raised $217,483 since January and spent less than half of Butler's campaign at $300,943. He reported having $33,117 in cash on hand at the end of the reporting period.

The two Democrats are seeking to be the first representatives of the newly carved 50th Assembly District, which covers Agoura Hills, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Hollywood.

The primary election marked the first major test of the state's new primary system, under which the top two vote getters head to the Nov. 6 general election, regardless of political party.

Butler currently holds the seat in the 53rd Assembly, which represents Venice, Marina del Rey and much of the South Bay. State senate and assembly lines were redrawn for the 2012 election based on 2010 Census data and Butler moved to the 50th Assembly District area.

The endorsement of the Democratic State Central Committee of California was a big boon to Butler. The party organization beefed up her campaign war chest to the tune of $60,000 in the most recent reporting period, bringing the yearly total to $131,814.

She also collected big cash contributions from various labor unions, including local chapters of the the Pipe Traders District and Plumbers and Steamfitters, as well as from Time Warner Cable and several other Democratic politicians seeking reelection.