Senate Candidate Haynes Issues Appeal for Donations

Acknowledging that his campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate is imperiled by lack of money, state Sen. Ray Haynes of Riverside has made an urgent appeal for contributions from about 30,000 potential donors.

“Honestly stated, things are desperate,” Haynes said in an e-mail to the conservative faithful this week. “You are my only hope to pull this one off.”

The lawmaker acknowledged in an interview Tuesday that he will not survive the primary without a significant infusion of cash: “If I don’t get money, I will lose. There is no question.”

The action by Haynes, one of two main conservatives in the race for the March 7 nomination, underscores the lack of interest that well-heeled members of the party’s right wing have shown in the contest to unseat Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

“If they thought Haynes could win, they would contribute heavily to this race,” said veteran GOP consultant Allan Hoffenblum. But “running for U.S. Senate in California is just too expensive, and these big-buck conservatives are not going to tilt at any windmills.”

Haynes pleaded for donations with the admission that if he does not receive a sizable response by Feb. 15, he will not have enough money to buy radio or television ads before the primary. And without such advertising in a state as vast as California, Haynes says in his letter, the GOP nomination probably will go to San Jose moderate Tom Campbell, a congressman widely perceived as the front-runner.

Campaign finance reports released last week show that Haynes had raised and spent less than $100,000 as of Dec. 31. His campaign says that he raised at least $100,000 in January, but such an amount is more appropriate to a race for the state Legislature than the U.S. Senate.

His e-mail appeal, according to a campaign spokesman, generated pledges of about $10,000 as of Tuesday.

As minority whip of the state Senate and a longtime Republican activist, Haynes entered a contest that had been sidestepped by better-known California conservatives.

For a short time, Silicon Valley millionaire Ron Unz was a candidate, but he pulled out months ago. Remaining conservatives Haynes and San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn have yet to catch fire.

Recent polls show that Haynes and Horn combined have only half the support of Campbell, who trails Feinstein by landslide margins. A Field Poll on Tuesday showed Feinstein favored by 52% of all voters, compared with 14% for Campbell, 4% for Horn and 3% for Haynes. Moreover, the poll showed, Feinstein was supported by almost a fourth of voters who describe themselves as “strongly conservative.”

Haynes’ dilemma, according to some Republican insiders, is a testament to his troubled candidacy and the weakness of the state’s social conservative movement.

“His inability to raise even the minimum standard of money shows there is a lack of money and energy placed on social conservatives in California,” one consultant said, requesting anonymity.

The Haynes campaign counters that its candidate, while cash poor, is rich in grass-roots conservative support. Before election day, according to his campaign, Haynes will be endorsed in slate mailings by the National Rifle Assn., the California Pro Life Council, and the conservative California Republican Assembly.

“I have got enough volunteer operations already,” Haynes said in an interview Tuesday. “There are all sorts of things going on in that area.”

Times staff writer Jean O. Pasco contributed to this story.