Los Angeles CD1 election fundraising remains lower than other major races, even as broader campaign spending surges, shaping a local contest that directly impacts Latino communities in the district.
The election to choose the next CD1 councilmember is not as costly as other contests in the primary elections to be held on June 2. So far, the money reported by candidates places this district in sixth place with a total of $1,213,691.
Councilmember Eunisses Hernández leads in contributions with $319,085.76. She is followed by Mary Lou Calanche with $182,262.96, Sylvia Robledo with $75,495.00, Raúl Claros with $70,528.00, and Nelson Grande with $55,002.65. Except Hernández, the rest have not received matching funds.
This race has generated significant controversy in the community and an intense campaign on social media, where some have tried to highlight deficiencies in city public services, while the councilmember has emphasized the progress made during her term and her plans if she wins the election.
This level of spending does not compare to that of other races.
Campaigns for mayor, District 11 City Council member, and city attorney have emerged as the most well funded races. With fewer than six weeks to go before the June election, candidates running for City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Unified School District offices have raised a combined $19 million, according to records from the LA City Ethics Commission.
The mayoral race totals $9,108,375.
Mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Adam Miller are leading all Los Angeles city candidates in fundraising, with $3.7 million and $2.7 million raised so far, respectively. Nythia Raman reported $530,915.
Miller, a tech entrepreneur and leader of multiple nonprofits, has loaned $2.5 million to his own campaign and raised just $223,000 from donors since entering the race in February.
Bass, on the other hand, had already gathered more than $2.3 million in contributions by January. She’d received some of those donations as far back as July 2024.
The city’s matching funds program has also given Bass a nearly $874,000 boost over Miller, who did not qualify to receive a 6-to-1 match from the city on donations that meet certain criteria.
Nithya Raman, City Council member for L.A.’s District 4, has had the quickest growth in donor support out of all candidates for mayor after entering the race in February.
She’s received a combined $1.1 million from direct contributions and matching funds from the city.
Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt has received about $538,000 in contributions, and Presbyterian minister and community organizer Rae Huang has taken in about $273,000.
The candidates have tapped into very different sources to fund their campaigns.
