The election to represent Assembly District 47, in which incumbent Greg Walls defeated Christy Holstege a second time, may not have been as close as the 2022 election, but it was more expensive.
In 2022, the candidates reported spending nearly $5 million total in an election which Wallis won by less than 1%. Two years later, the cost of re-election escalated by nearly 25% to $6.2 million.
Holstege expenditures were more than Wallis’s in both elections. In 2024, her total was $3.5 million, about 12.7% greater. However, to preserve his incumbency, Wallis increased his campaign funds by more than 40% to $2.6 million from $1.9 million.
Wallis
The Assemblyman’s largest contributor was obviously the California Republican Party, which sent $1.1 million to his coffers. Much of this was classified as non-monetary contributions, including one $235,000 gift and three for $100,000, in addition, to a monetary donation of $100,000. All of these came with less than six weeks remaining in the campaign.
The only other contributions greater than $10,000 were two from the California Real Estate Political Action Committees. However, the Peace Officers Research Association of California, PAC gave Wallis $9,400.
More than $500,000 came from 100 contributions of $5,000 to $7,500. And he had more than 260 donations of less than $1,000, which added $76,000 to his coffers.
Wallis’s contributors were a variety of people and organizations. Tribes, such as the Agua Caliente Band, Barona Band, Morongo Band, Pechanga Band and the San Manuel Band contributed from $5,000 to $11,000 each to his campaign.
Other PACs ranged from AT&T, the Pistachio Growers, Pacific Gas and Electric, the Riverside Sheriff’s Association Public Education Fund, Sempra Energy, United Healthcare, the Walt Disney Company and Zenith Insurance Company.
Out of nearly 900 separate donations, 136 (or 15%) individuals or groups were from outside of California. Their contributions totaled about $280,000.
Lobbying groups in the District of Columbia were a large source of contributions, but Wallis received funds from across the country – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Texas and 19 other states.
However, the Hill communities were not a source of any contributions for his re-election.
Holstege
Holstege’s contributions totaled $3.1 million, nearly $1 million more than Wallis’s total contributions. She had nearly 1,200 total contributions, which was only 300 more than Wallis’s total contributions.
Holstege had only three contributions of $100,000 or more compared to Wallis, who received five of at least that amount. But she had 14 contributions between $50,000 and $88,000 and another 57 greater than $10,000.
Smaller contributions of less than $1,000 came from nearly 700 sources, about half were for $100 or less.
Her largest contributor was the California Democratic Party, which gave her about $63,000 in cash and more than $1.4 million in non-monetary contributions. The Los Angeles, Mendocino, Riverside, Santa Clara, and Sonoma County Democratic Parties contributed $550,000 in cash. Also, many other incumbent Democratic Assembly candidates sent funds to Holstege.
Non-political contributors included the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the Amalgamated Transit Union PAC, the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 364 PAC, the Association of California School Administrators PAC, the California Nurses Association PAC, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus Leadership Fund, as well as the Palm Springs Police and Firefighter Associations.
Of her total contributions, 60 were from outside California. They totaled nearly $61,000. The largest non-Californian contribution was $21,800 from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees PAC. But the greatest number of contributions came from the Jane Fonda Climate PAC and totaled about $5,500.
She received two contributions from Idyllwild, which totaled $200.
