Aguilar Raises $474,000, Chabot Remains Competitive

SAN BERNARDINO >> Congressman Pete Aguilar's campaign announced it raised $474,000 for the second fundraising quarter this year, making it Aguilar's best fundraising quarter for the 2016 election. Paul Chabot is the Republican candidate running against Aguilar for Congress in the 31st District of California. Ryan Hall, Communications Director for the Chabot campaign, said in an email the Chabot campaign has a proven track record of remaining competitive despite being out spent. "During the crowded primary in June, economist Sean Flynn spent over a half million dollars on his bid and placed dead last," Hall said. "Paul has an incredible team of dedicated volunteers which allows the campaign to compete and win on a fraction of the dollars needed by others." According to the campaign, Aguilar's general election fund will be more than $1.5 million in the bank. Matt Liebman, Finance Director for the Augilar campaign, said the success of Aguilar's fundraising efforts has been spearheaded by a coalition of over 15,000 individual supporters, of which 89 percent have contributed $100 or less. "I'm humbled by the outpouring of support that our grassroots campaign continues to receive," Aguilar said in a press release. "Inland Empire families have made it clear that they want a representative who will work to improve our education system, stand up for our seniors, protect women's reproductive health care and bring good-paying jobs to our region. Unfortunately, my Republican opponent is more concerned with promoting Donald Trump's hateful agenda than addressing the important issues impacting San Bernardino County residents." In 2014, Chabot and Aguilar ran for Congress in the 31st District of California. Though Aguilar ultimately won, Hall said Aguilar won with a 3 percent margin despite spending eight times as much as Chabot, and lost his hometown of Redlands by eight points.