Labor unions fund Brown for Governor reelection bid

Voters will go to the polls on June 3 for the California primary. They’ll choose between more than a dozen candidates for governor to determine which two appear on the ballot in the November general election. The secretary of state’s office tracks contributions and shows incumbent Jerry Brown leading in campaign contributions.

Now a study from the nonprofit and nonpartisan Maplight organization, has revealed where the financial influence comes from for the top three gubernatorial candidates.

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown is running for his fourth term. He’s a virtual lock to win the most votes in the June primary. It seems the real contest is for second place, which will decide who runs against Brown in November.

The latest polls show the frontrunners for that spot are Republican state Assemblyman Tim Donnelly and former Treasury Department official Neal Kashkari.

MapLight’s analysis of campaign contributions from the secretary of state’s office shows the top five contributors to the campaigns of Brown, Donnelly and Kashkari and the geographic origin of those contributions. Note the pictures posted to this story.

Jerry Brown has received $13,600,000 in contributions, and from the table you’ll note he’s financed heavily by the California Democratic Party and labor unions. Most of his contributions come from California.

Tim Donnelly has received $713,000 in contributions. He’s from Twin Peaks and is a tea party member. His campaign is financed by a range of small and midsize California companies.

And Neal Kashkari has received $3,000,000 in contributions and was a key architect of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, and his campaign is funded by the financial services industry.

The find this information, MapLight analyzed the campaign contributions to the primary-controlled committees of California candidates from Jan. 1, 2013 – May 14, 2014. The top contributor figures are based on itemized records, aggregated by employer for individual donors and by affiliate organizations for political action committees. All numbers are based on latest data made available by the California secretary of state as of May 14, 2014.