Not sold

California donors still not sold on Jeb Bush

His fundraising trip to the left coast shows he’s a long way from being the clear choice for conservative establishment money.

By Anna Palmer

When Jeb Bush launched a presidential super PAC earlier this year, he got a jump on the competition and quickly positioned himself as the establishment wing front-runner.

But his fundraising trip to California this week shows he’s a long way from being the clear choice for conservative establishment money. Bush hasn’t laid the same groundwork there that Mitt Romney did in his two runs, faces stiffer competition for dollars and donors aren’t yet convinced he can defeat Hillary Clinton.

Reliable top-tier Republican donors in Orange County — one of the nation’s most lucrative fundraising locales — are leery of committing until they get a better feel for his electability.

“I have met in small groups with several of the candidates … but I’m still not ready to jump in yet,” said longtime Republican donor Dale Dykema, who founded TD Service Financial and is a fixture in the Orange County business community. “So much depends, as it has in recent years, as to what happens in those early primaries and caucuses, and I really think that I’m going to wait until I see what happens at least with the first two before I’m going to make any commitment.”

Several Orange County GOP donors echoed Dykema’s sentiment, expressing reluctance to take sides in the absence of a convincing GOP candidate. In their estimation, the stakes are especially high after eight years of President Barack Obama’s policies.

“After six years in the wilderness, I think Republican donors are thinking very carefully about who can beat the Democrats,” said Mike Capaldi, a former chairman of the conservative Orange County Lincoln Club, an influential group of business elites. “I think that a lot of donors in Orange County feel pretty strongly that we have to win this race. … The question comes down to who can beat Hillary Clinton. I think it’s a good thing that Republican donors are hesitating and watching and learning.”

That keep-the-powder-dry approach stand represents a stark difference to the county’s embrace of Mitt Romney, who raised more than $40 million from California for the 2012 cycle. The 926 ZIP code designation that marks Orange County — at one time storied for its brand of conservatism — was the sixth most lucrative 3-digit ZIP code nationwide and produced $1.6 million more than anywhere else in California, according to the Orange County Register.

“I don’t see anyone lining up behind somebody. That’s different than it was when Romney was running,” said Tom Ross, political director for New Majority, an Orange County-founded group that is California’s largest Republican political action committee.

Several donors explained that Romney’s success in securing early backing from area Republicans in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns was born out of a systematic courting of the region that started in 2005 and expanded in 2006.

“Two years before the election and he already had a big team,” said one longtime Orange County Republican donor. “You don’t have anybody in the race that is starting from scratch that could pull off what Romney did.”

The Southern California county, which stretches along the Pacific Coast from Huntington Beach south to San Clemente, has long been home to some of the most loyal and sought-after Republican donors, but few are committing to cut early primary checks.

That hasn’t stopped Republican prospects from trying to squeeze money out of the state. Bush was in San Diego, then Newport Beach, on Monday for a $25,000-per-couple super PAC fundraiser. On Tuesday, he headed to affluent Bel Air in Los Angeles. He’s also got fundraising stops later in the week in Northern California, in Palo Alto and San Francisco, as part of his drive to bring in millions to retain his position as the strongest fundraiser in the field.

Bush isn’t alone in seeking to tap the state. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has also made several trips to the Golden State in 2015, including a March swing in Orange County . Florida Sen. Marco Rubio headed to Orange County in January — and has plans to be back again soon. In February, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal met with the Orange County Lincoln Club for a private policy meeting and afternoon coffee. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has also talked with donors and fundraised in the state as head of the Republican Governors Association.

Bush and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry appear to have made the most headway in California. GOP strategists say that’s largely because of the extended Bush family network, and because Perry’s campaign consultant Jeff Miller, a former aide to then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, helped create relationships with donors in the state.

The hunt for Orange County cash isn’t limited to the presidential prospects.

Top Republican leaders in Congress regularly press the flesh in the area. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has made significant inroads, particularly with big Orange County donors like David Horowitz, whom many presidential candidates have already begun trying to woo. Horowitz, who contributed $10,000 to Romney’s Restore Our Future in 2012, co-hosted and brought in conservatives to meet with Walker over dinner, according to a source familiar with the event. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, himself a Californian, also is a regular on the Orange County fundraising scene.

Elsewhere in the state, candidates are showing at least some signs of traction. Walker’s camp has said that he’s gotten commitments from real estate mogul John Peck and “Papa” Doug Manchester, founder of the San Diego Union Tribune, who gave Mitt Romney’s super PAC $25,000 early during the 2012 primary season. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the first to become an official presidential candidate, is slated to go to San Diego on April 7 for a dinner hosted by Dr. Peter Farrell as part of his two-week push to try and catch up in the money race.

The slow-rolling of financial commitments to Republican candidates isn’t that surprising. Many of the potential GOP nominees, like Walker and Jindal, aren’t well known in the state by donors. And, often donors like to commit before candidates officially announce, and so far Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the only one to do so.

California GOP strategist Rob Stutzman said donors are feeling the fatigue of constantly being asked for money, particularly in California where Republicans are rarely competitive statewide.

“I don’t think donors are in a hurry. I think there is still donor fatigue,” Stutzman said.