THE BUZZ: CENTRAL BANK — Deep in the heart of California’s farm country, Democrats are enjoying a fundraising bounty. The party’s picks for two of the fiercest House races in the state — and the country overall — each pulled in more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2024, according to figures shared exclusively with POLITICO. The seven-figure hauls are fueling optimism that Democrats can topple two incumbent Republicans who are precariously perched in blue-tinted districts. Rudy Salas, the former state lawmaker who is taking on GOP Rep. David Valadao, raised more than $1.3 million, his campaign said, and ended the quarter with $750,000 in the bank, after fending off fellow Democrat Melissa Hurtado in the March 5 primary. Adam Gray, also a former legislator, did not have a competitive primary to contend with but still swept up more than $1 million in donations and has roughly the same amount on hand for his match-up with GOP Rep. John Duarte. Salas’ primary caused some agita in his party at the time, fearing that a fractured Democratic vote could lead to Salas being shut out of a top-two finish entirely. But now, with his ticket to the general election secure, Salas said the early competition had one benefit. “It got people to pay attention a lot sooner to the race,” Salas said. That included getting boosts from party heavyweights such as Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sent out fundraising emails on Salas’ behalf, and Rep. Pete Aguilar, the third highest-ranking House Democrat, who walked precincts in Bakersfield in addition to steering donations Salas’ way. The city happens to be former GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s home turf — and Democrats have been especially hopeful that the absence of McCarthy, who took special interest in protecting targeted Central Valley Republicans, could give them an opportunity. But Aguilar, when asked if it was particularly gratifying for Democrats to have a strong showing in McCarthy territory, demurred — mostly. “Republicans have turned the page on their leadership team. They probably have a House speaker now who doesn't know where the Central Valley is,” Aguilar said, before insisting his party was more focused on the issues than the personalities involved. “Our focus is this — what are we going to do to lower the cost of prescription drugs? These are the things that Democrats care about,” he said. In both races, Democrats are gearing up for a rematch, after narrowly losing in 2022 (in Gray’s case, “narrow” is an understatement – he lost to Duarte by just 564 votes). The candidates are betting that a presidential election year will turn out more of their party’s voters, helping close the gap. Gray and Salas are also poised to be better resourced this time around. This quarter has been their most lucrative in either the 2022 or 2024 cycle. The Central Valley, one of the most impoverished parts of the state, is hardly a fundraising motherlode. Valadao has only notched a seven-figure quarterly haul once, in October 2020, as he was running to win back his seat. Duarte has never posted a million-dollar quarter. (Josh Harder, a Democratic congressmember and former venture capital investor in a light-blue district, has also raised seven figures in a quarter multiple times in the past). Neither Duarte nor Valadao have announced their quarterly finance numbers, which will be filed on April 20. A spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in response to the Democrats’ totals, said “selling out Valley families to Newsom, Pelosi and Sacramento special interests was a way of life” for Salas and Gray. With one of the cheapest broadcast markets in the state, cash stretches especially far. “A million dollars goes a lot further here than it does in Orange County and LA,” Gray said. “It’s really going to put us in a position to run a competitive general election.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Wednesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
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