Less known fact: Most of the money raised by candidates comes from outside the area they will represent.A study released Tuesday by the nonpartisan research group MAPLight,org found that California lawmakers raised 79 percent of campaign funds from outside their districts.
In other words, legislators raised almost four out of every five dollars in campaign funds from outside of where their constituents live.
More than half of the state's lawmakers raised 80 percent or more of their campaign funds from outside their districts. Nineteen lawmakers raised 90 percent or more of their funds from outside their districts. No lawmaker raised more than half of their funds from in-district.
In the greater Sacramento area, MapLight flagged and ranked these legislators by the percentage of contributions they received from donors outside their district:
#18 Assemblywoman Alyson Huber 91 percent #53 Assemblyman Ted Gaines 83 percent #44 Senator Sam Aanestad 85 percent #60 Senator Dave Cox 82 percent
"Not a single legislator in California raised the majority of their campaign funds from in-district, where their voters live," said Daniel Newman, MAPLight.org executive director. "Instead of a voter democracy, we have a donor democracy."
--Phillip Reese
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