Many politicos in San Diego and Riverside are chuckling over Monday’s SDUT story indicating that Democrat challenger Mark Hanson hopes to raise $1.6 million to unseat Senator Dennis Hollingsworth in the 36th SD.
Uh huh, right. The district is 50% Rep, 27% Dem, and elected Bush over Gore in ’04 by 30 points. Hollingsworth initially won the seat over the more moderate Charlene Zettel, even though he had way less money. Even SDUT reporter Phil LaVelle had to have written Hanson’s claim while smirking about such gravitas.
By all standards, SD 36 is a suicide seat for any Democrat. Hanson, who doesn’t seem to have any significant personal resources, raised $80k thru September 30, with $11k cash-on-hand. His unrealistic hopes may be based on the fact that Hollingsworth has only raised twice that and has a mere $56k on-hand.
OK, for some fun, email me and take a stab at how much Hanson will actually raise for the year, Jan. 1 thru Dec. 31. The closest to the mark will be announced in a future FR, whatever the heck that’s worth.