2 GOP Candidates for Congress Trail in Campaign Cash : Elections: Primary battles leave Tom McClintock and Howard McKeon at a financial disadvantage against their Democratic opponents.

WASHINGTON —  Two Republican congressional candidates in GOP-leaning districts in the San Fernando Valley area emerged from costly primary contests with depleted campaign coffers--putting them at an initial disadvantage against Democratic rivals this fall--according to fund-raising reports available this week.

In the highly competitive 24th District--which includes parts of the southern and western San Fernando Valley, Malibu and most of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County--Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) began the summer with only $17,404 on hand, reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show. In contrast, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) had $165,319.

McClintock had to withstand a well-financed, nine-candidate GOP field; Beilenson was unopposed in the Democratic primary in the district.

“There’s no question we have a great deal of financial ground to regain,” McClintock said this week of his race with Beilenson. “While I was raising and spending $200,000 in a nine-candidate primary, he was raising and banking about the same amount.”

In the 25th District--which spans the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys and part of the northern San Fernando Valley--former Santa Clarita City Councilman Howard (Buck) McKeon reported only $1,970 in cash--and debts of $206,290--after winning a hard-fought Republican primary against several prominent opponents. The debts are primarily owed to himself.

McKeon’s Democratic opponent, attorney James H. (Gil) Gilmartin, had $96,894--after loaning his campaign $100,000. Nonetheless, McKeon is heavily favored among the conservative voters in the new district.

“We have plans to raise enough money to run a good, strong campaign in the fall,” McKeon said. “We ran a real strong campaign in the primary for several months and we have a real good core of volunteers and precinct walkers and people who are ready to help.”

At the same time, three longtime incumbents from the Valley area coasted into the summer with exponential fund-raising advantages over little-known and under-funded challengers. All are expected to win reelection without much heavy campaign lifting.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) raised $20,650 between May 14 and June 30--the period covered by the reports--and had a stockpile of $791,529. His Republican opponent, Los Angeles attorney Mark Robbins, raised $10,421 and had only $8,597. Half of Waxman’s money came from political action committees.

Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), meanwhile, raised $57,950 and had $736,246. His Democratic opponent, Doug Kahn of Altadena, garnered $14,390 and had a total of $12,513.

Moorhead raised $53,700 of his total from political action committees. This included $2,500 from Morgan Cos. PAC, representing the Wall Street securities firm; $2,500 from Viacom International Inc. PAC, representing a cable and broadcasting company, and $2,000 each from the American Bankers Assn. and the Realtors PAC.

Kahn, meanwhile, was boosted by a $5,000 contribution from the National Education Assn.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) took in $5,250 and had $205,647. His Republican opponent, Gary Forsch of Sun Valley, raised $11,966 and had only $1,474 on hand after narrowly winning the GOP primary.

Beilenson, who accepts no contributions from special-interest PACs, is soliciting funds more aggressively than is his custom. He is running in a district that no longer includes the heavily Democratic Westside communities he has represented during his 30 years in state and federal office.

Much of Beilenson’s funding, however, continues to come from traditional Westside supporters. This includes $1,000 each from actor Sidney Poitier of Beverly Hills, attorney Jack M. Ostrow of Beverly Hills and Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and $500 from retired Judge Joseph A. Wapner of “The People’s Court” TV show.

Campaign manager Craig Miller said that Beilenson’s longtime constituents “feel very strongly about him and are very supportive of him.” Nevertheless, Miller said that Beilenson is increasingly raising money in the portion of the new district that is outside his current district.

He said this included many contributions of less than $200--which do not have to be individually reported. Beilenson received $7,126 in the recent period from such small donors.

McClintock, meanwhile, garnered $56,527 between May 14 and June 30, but he spent $63,527 for the June 2 primary during that period. A total of $28,816 came from PACs.

McClintock’s biggest donor was the National Rifle Assn., which gave him $4,950. He also received $2,500 each from the Transamerica Insurance Group and the American Chiropractic Assn. PACs; $1,500 each from CALBANKPAC and the Unocal oil company PAC, and $1,000 from the Republican Liberty Federation Campaign, a new libertarian-oriented PAC.

Miller said Beilenson’s early fund-raising advantage is likely to be eroded “by Tom McClintock’s very aggressive fund-raising activities targeting selfish, self-interested corporate political action committees that want special favors from elected officials. They have been receiving special favors from Tom McClintock for the last 10 years.”

One example he cited was McClintock’s vote against measures to “keep automatic assault rifles off the streets of Los Angeles” after taking $5,000 from the National Rifle Assn.

McClintock said that he attracted the support of the NRA because he has championed “the right of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their firearms.”

He said most of his PAC donors are “businesses that are struggling to survive in California under the burden of massive taxes and over-regulation, which Tony Beilenson has actively aided and promoted.”

McClintock, meanwhile, asserted that Beilenson’s fund raising has been “anemic for an incumbent, a further sign that his support has faded dramatically.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Miller replied, asserting that McClintock “fails to understand the difference between fund-raising prowess and real community-based support.”

Beilenson’s target is $500,000; McClintock’s, $400,000. McClintock spent $197,182 as of June 30; Beilenson, $70,226.

In the 25th District, McKeon raised $36,344 during the reporting period and spent $36,851. The total included $13,750 from PACs and $6,994 from small donors. Overall, he spent $232,029 as of June 30.

McKeon’s biggest givers were the American Medical PAC and the Realtors PAC, both of which gave the maximum of $5,000. He also received $1,000 from Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), the third-ranking Republican in the House.

McKeon said he expects to spend $150,000 to $200,000 in the campaign for the November election, primarily on direct mail. He said that costly polling, research and consulting assistance had already been obtained during the primary.

Gilmartin, in contrast, spent only $4,766 as of June 30. He had raised only $16,101 beyond the $100,000 that he loaned his campaign. But he said that “money is starting to come in in little dribs and drabs.” He said he expects to spend about $140,000.

Alluding to the scarcity of Democrats in the northern Los Angeles County valleys and deserts, Gilmartin has been running newspapers ads that proclaim: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Democrat running for Congress.”