Chris Kelly (D)
Steve Cooley (R)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-Chris Kelly, the former Silicon Valley executive vying to be California's next attorney general, leads the race in cash-on-hand thanks to the $4 million he has given his campaign, reports show.
Kelly, a former executive at Facebook, is one of candidates hoping to succeed Democrat Jerry Brown as the Golden State's chief legal officer.
He gave his campaign $2 million at the end of December, and another $2 million this month.
"I'm committed to running a substantial and competitive campaign for California attorney general," Kelly said, explaining his contributions. "I'm not an 'establishment' candidate, I'm not going to be beholden to special interests, and I'm not afraid to spend my own money to change the direction of California."
Campaign finance reports filed this week indicate that Kelly has $3.4 million in his campaign account. San Francisco County District Attorney Kamala Harris is in a distant second, with $1.3 million in her campaign war chest, according to papers filed with the California secretary of state's office.
Also in the Democratic race for state attorney general is Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, state Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico of Newark and state Assemblyman Ted Lieu of Torrance.
Campaign filings show that Delgadillo has $1.1 million in the bank. Lieu reported having $1.09 million, while Torrico reported having $1.02 million in the bank. Trailing is state Assemblyman Pedro Nava of Santa Barbara, who reported $43,920 in his account.
On the Republican side, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley reported having $297,200 in the bank, while state Sen. Tom Harman of Huntington Beach reported that he has $239,900 in his campaign account. Legal scholar John Eastman reported having $148,276 in cash-on-hand.
From Legal Newsline: Reach staff reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.