California U.S. Senators build war chests despite no upcoming election
NO UPCOMING ELECTION? NO PROBLEM
California’s two U.S. senators don’t have to run again for at least four more years, but they’ve got millions of dollars on hand to use in their next campaigns, new Federal Election Commission reports show.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who next faces re-election for his Senate seat in 2030, reported $8.6 million on hand at the end of September. His 2024 campaign, which included a tough primary fight between two prominent Democrats and a general election challenge from Republican Steve Garvey, spent $61 million.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., who’s up for reelection in 2028, had $7 million on hand. His 2022 campaigns, which he won fairly easily, spent $4.5 million.
It’s not unusual for incumbents to amass huge bank accounts early in their terms. They still have fundraising loyalists from their previous campaign they can tap, and can cite their involvement in current events to seek more money.
Schiff, for example, is frequently sending out appeals to donors, often stressing his bitter feud with President Donald Trump. On Thursday, he sent supporters a fundraising letter saying, “President Trump has described me and other Democratic officials as ‘the enemy within.’”
“I’m keeping up the fight for the rule of law. I will be attacked for it, but I will never give in,” he told potential donors. “Will you stand with me in this important fight? Chip in to help me defend our democracy against Trump’s attacks.”
So far this year, Schiff has raised $4.2 million.
– David Lightman, in Washington D.C.
KATIE PORTER’S APOLOGY TOUR PITCH
Gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter is leveraging the attention from her two outbursts caught on tape, apologizing for her behavior before making the case that she’s the fighter California needs to lead it through the second Trump administration.
“What I did was not good,” Porter said at a UC Student and Policy Center forum in Sacramento Friday. “But I also want people to understand that I am in this fight because I am not going to back down and give one inch when people are hurting Californians.”
It’s unclear what impact the pair of damaging videos will have on Porter’s standing in the open governor’s race but she’s ignoring calls from some, including fellow Democrat Betty Yee, to drop out of the race.
Porter, an Orange County Democrat, said Friday she could have handled the CBS interview in which she threatened to walk out better, but added that she took issue with the framing of a question about winning over Trump supporters.
“There was an implication in the question that I needed to be doing more and something to sort of moderate, to address Trump. That I’m pushing back on,” she said during a Q&A with KQED political correspondent Marisa Lagos. “Trump is hurting Californians and he is hurting California.”
Porter noted she flipped a congressional seat in 2018 that had long been held by Republicans and has a “track record” of representing a purple constituency.
“I am used to not everyone agreeing with me,” she said. “But I am not going to sell out our values as a state for some short-term political gain to try to appease people who are still supporting what this president is doing.”
When asked later about policy areas where she would have acted differently than Gov. Gavin Newsom, Porter pointed to a deal struck recently to open Kern County up to new drilling.
“Drilling new wells is locking us into 100-plus years of energy of the past,” she said. “I absolutely know that we need our refineries to stay open. … But I’m concerned about the environmental consequences, the environmental justice consequences, the shortened lifespan and pollution that we see in some of our fossil fuel producing places.”
– Nicole Nixon
WIENER PLANS CONGRESSIONAL LAUNCH
Sen. Scott Wiener is done waiting in the wings while former Speaker Nancy Pelosi decides whether to retire from Congress. According to a report by the SF Standard, Wiener will announce a congressional bid this week.
Though he’s had an eye on Pelosi’s seat for years, Wiener has stood down in recent cycles as the 85-year-old Democratic leader sought reelection, even as she handed the reins of the caucus to the younger Hakeem Jeffries, 55, in early 2023.
According to the Standard report, Wiener’s decision to get in now was motivated by polling and energy surrounding another progressive Pelosi challenger, Saikat Chakrabarti. He previously served as campaign manager and chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY.
According to a poll released last month by Chakrabarti’s campaign, half of Pelosi’s supporters said it is time for new congressional leadership in the city.
In the statehouse, Wiener has passed dozens of bills to spur more and denser housing production and to expand rights and protections for LGBTQ+ students and residents in the state, an issue that earns him regular fire from conservatives.
Wiener last year won reelection for a third four-year term in the state senate and would be able to keep his legislative seat if his congressional bid is unsuccessful.
– Nicole Nixon
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“No, no, no cincuenta no, cincuenta no”
-- State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, R-Jackson, in a post on X asking Latino voters to mobilize against Prop. 50
BEST OF THE BEE
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This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "California U.S. Senators build war chests despite no upcoming election."
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