AAPI VOTE 2018: Thai American draws even with GOP's Devin Nunes

ANDREW JANZ

THE RACE for Devin Nunes' congressional seat in California has flipped. Once considered a "safe" seat for Republicans, is now up for grabs. The trend is good news for Thai/American challenger, Andrew Janz.

The race for California's Congressional District 22, smack dab in the middle of the conservative-leaning Central Valley and held by controversial GOP incumbent Nunes, has been downgraded from “safely Republican” to “likely Republican” by a closely watched political forecasting website.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball, run by University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, based their conclusion on the campaign war chest raised by Democratic challenger Andrew Janz as a trend indicator, thus making the race more competitive.

Janz is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to run against Nunes in November. The California primary is June 5.

Campaign filings show Janz has raised nearly $1.4 million in the last year, including $600,000 in the month of February alone. That surge  if donations can be attributed to Nunes, as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, releasing a GOP memo concluding that there had been no collusion between Russia and the Donald Trump presidential campaign.

Despite Nunes' role in releasing the memo, he still raised $2.6 million in the same amount of time, giving him over $4.5 million in cash on hand as of this month. He has also outspent Janz at $1.3 million to $783,000.

The difference is 47% of Nunes itemized donors live or operate outside of California, while 72% of Janz’s itemized donors were in-state

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The survey also showed that the majority of Nunes money came from political action committees (PACs) averaging $1,163 per donation.

Janz’s average donation was only $42. Even Janz's large donors - those who donated over $200 - averaged only $262. Therefore, one can safely surmise that that the Democrat has a broader populist appeal than Republican Nunes.

The University of Virginia poll predicts Democrats have a 50-50 chance to win enough seats to take control of the House.

CORRECTION: (May 2) Andrew Janz is Thai/American.

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