Jones Raises $2 Million, Pledges His Own Funds

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones raised a modest $2 million over the three-month period ending June 30, but tried to take the sting out of it by announcing Wednesday that he would invest “at least $2 million” of his own money in his effort to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Jones’ campaign sought to focus on the current fundraising quarter, which will include events later this month headlined by Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), among others. Still, Jones -- even counting his own pledge -- has less than $4 million on hand for a campaign that analysts estimate will take $15 million to be competitive.

Jones’ campaign said the Central Valley businessman’s investment was meant to show national Republican figures that he was a serious candidate -- a message that the campaign hopes will entice donors from outside the state.

Key is the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which could funnel up to $3.4 million to Jones’ campaign as part of GOP efforts to retain control of the U.S. Senate.

“We will raise and we will spend what it will take to win,” Jones strategist Sean Walsh said. “Bill Jones is committed personally and financially to running Barbara Boxer out of the Senate.”

Boxer, though, has no intention of going cheaply. Spokesman Roy Behr said the two-term incumbent had raised “significantly more” than Jones’ reported $2 million in the quarter, but declined to say how much. Boxer has said she hopes to raise $25 million -- none of it her own money.

Campaigns must file their financial reports by today, outlining how much they have raised and spent in the three months ending June 30. Neither campaign would offer many details Wednesday -- apart from Jones’ overall figure -- and said they wanted to wait until those reports were finished.

“By any standard, what we learned today is that Jones’ fundraising is falling short,” Behr said, adding that the last quarter came after Jones won the Republican primary to face Boxer. “If there was easy money to get, he should have got it.”

At the beginning of the quarter Boxer had raised $11 million -- $1.4 million in the previous three months -- and had nearly $6 million in the bank. Jones had raised $1.4 million, including an outstanding $200,000 loan from himself, and had slightly more than $200,000 in the bank.

Jones has said repeatedly that his early lag in fundraising should not be seen as an indicator of his campaign’s health, since he started late and had to win a primary to square off against Boxer.

When he entered the race in December, Jones, a former California secretary of state and six-term assemblyman from Fresno, was worth several million dollars, largely from his holdings in the family’s Central Valley ranch operations. His wealth -- at least on paper -- increased dramatically this spring with the announced merger of his Pacific Ethanol company with Accessity Corp.

Jones’ 4.8 million shares would be worth $24.8 million based on Wednesday’s closing stock price. The merger is expected to be approved later this month. Boxer spent $13.7 million six years ago to defeat challenger Matt Fong, who spent $10.8 million.