FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2023
CONTACT:
Coby Eiss
[email protected]
AFTER RECORD-SETTING QUARTER, DEMOCRAT WILL ROLLINS CONTINUES TO BUILD SUPPORT
Rollins’ Early Fundraising Strength and Political Support Moved the Race into the “Toss Up” Category
CORONA, C.A. — After launching his 2024 campaign for California’s 41st District on May 16th, Democrat Will Rollins made history outside an election year, raising more in the first quarter of his campaign than any other challenger in California history.
Now, as the campaign concludes its first month of the third quarter, Rollins’ campaign has continued its momentum both in robust grassroots fundraising and growing political support, drawing more attention from national forecasters and press on California’s 41st.
“We’re picking up on the momentum we built in 2022 and we’re not taking our foot off the gas,” said Rollins. “The Inland Empire and Coachella Valley deserve a representative who puts our communities’ needs over the needs of the special interests and corporate PACs. Regardless of party, voters want a House Majority that will strengthen the Office of Congressional Ethics, not try to gut it. And they deserve a representative more focused on kitchen table issues than culture wars. Ours is a campaign for change, and I know that our message for reform in Washington is resonating because our support is growing by the day.”
POLITICAL SUPPORT
Rollins received support from the following notable endorsers in July:
- Democratic Whip Katherine Clark
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta
- Human Rights Campaign
- NewDem Action Fund
- League of Conservation Voters
- California Environmental Voters
- Defend the Vote
- Serve America
The endorsements followed 30 members of the California delegation endorsing Rollins on the first day of his campaign, including Speaker Emerita Pelosi and Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff. Former Senator Barbara Boxer also endorsed in the first 24 hours.
Rollins also picked up endorsements shortly after launching his campaign from LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Equality PAC, Voter Protection Project, Democrats Serve, The Long Run PAC, Square One Politics, Communications Workers of America, and Association of Flight Attendants – CWA.
GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING
The campaign continued an impressive fundraising pace thanks to individual grassroots donors, not corporate PACs. The campaign collected thousands of online contributions in July, with an average of $50 per online gift.
The continued enthusiasm among small-dollar donors follows the campaign outpacing Republican Ken Calvert in the second quarter by a greater than 3:1 margin in individual contributions and a greater than 5:1 margin in dollars raised through unitemized “small-dollar” contributions. Rollins raised more than $847,000 directly from individuals in the second quarter compared to Calvert raising just over $470,000 directly from individuals in the second quarter.
STATE OF THE RACE
National forecasters and press are taking notice of Rollins’ continued strengths in fundraising and political support. The Cook Political Report upgraded the race rating from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up” just after second quarter fundraising numbers became public.
Here’s what reporters and forecasters had to say in July:
“Many Democrats said, ‘This is a district [former President] Trump carried, so we don’t have a great chance.’ But it’s moving toward Democrats with such velocity that it might be an even better target than some of the districts” that President Biden won.
– Dave Wasserman, Cook Political Report, as quoted in the LA Times
“A California congressional race has been labeled as a ‘ticking time bomb’ by one prominent elections expert amid Republicans’ uphill effort to retain control of the House in 2024.”
– Newsweek
“The candidates’ flush coffers foreshadow a costly local fight in the larger battle for control of the House of Representatives, which currently has a razor-thin GOP majority….Just a few districts could make all the difference, and CA-41 is one of them.”
– The Press-Enterprise
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Will Rollins is a Palm Springs resident and Southern California native. A former federal counterterrorism prosecutor, he is now running for Congress in California’s 41st Congressional District.
