In the race to represent the 24th congressional district, Salud Carbajal continues to lead the pack in fundraising, raking in roughly $313,000 in the first quarter of 2016. That brings Carbajal to nearly $1.7 million total money raised, with just over $1 million cash on hand. Last quarter, his chief Democratic rival, Helene Schneider, raised $96,800, bringing her total to $577,042. She has $241,600 in her war chest.
But those figures significantly overstate how much they can spend before the June 7 primary election. In the last two weeks, Carbajal unveiled two ads. The first shows him walking along the beach with his wife, meeting with constituents, and talking with supporters of Planned Parenthood (Schneider supporters emphasize the Planned Parenthood local chapter has not endorsed either candidate).
Four days later, Schneider convened a press conference to demand Carbajal take his new TV ad down, charging it presented an exaggeratedly rosy picture of county finances while not acknowledging the looming challenges. Schneider objected Carbajal took credit for the county’s balanced budget, high solid credit ratings, and $4.5 million in allocated reserves. And she complained it failed to acknowledge the hundreds of millions of dollars the county confronts in unmet capital needs.