$1 million donation to conservative PAC could shake up San Diego mayor race

Just weeks before the November election, a $1 million donation to a conservative political action committee (PAC) could shake up the San Diego mayoral race.

Attorney Steven Richter donated the hefty sum to the Lincoln Club of San Diego’s PAC. The chair of the PAC, however, said he’s not sure how the money will be spent.

The conservative Lincoln Club of San Diego endorsed Larry Turner, who identifies as an independent, in his bid to be the next mayor of San Diego. The Lincoln Club’s executive director, Victor Lopez, could have a committee supporting Turner set up as soon as Friday.

While the donation is hardly too little to shake up a relatively quiet local campaign season, does it come too late?

“This is probably the last possible moment that a donation, even a million-dollar one, could affect a campaign,” UC San Diego political-science professor Thad Kousser told NBC 7.

Richter did not respond to NBC 7’s requests for comment, regarding this article. A donation of that size cannot go directly to a candidate but can go to a PAC, which can spend it however members decide, as long as they are not in communication with the candidate.

The chair of Lincoln Club’s PAC responded to NBC 7’s questions via email, saying, “We have many priority races, and I have not decided where the money is going to be spent.” He said a letter was attached to the donation, telling them to spend the money as they see fit, “no strings attached.”

The Lincoln Club has also endorsed the Republicans in the competitive Congressional District 49 and Board of Supervisors District 3 races (Matt Gunderson and Kevin Faulconer, respectively).

“There’s a lot of things that have dominoes that would have to fall before we know whether this will be a groundbreaking, ground-shaking contribution in the mayor’s race,” said UCSD’s Kousser. “A million dollars is a big start toward running a very serious mayoral campaign. This campaign seems to have tightened in recent polling.”

This is hardly the start of campaign season, though. In the home stretch, Kousser said, candidates should be encouraging voters to go to the polls, not just getting their names out to the masses via TV ads or mailers, which is how the money could be spent in support of Turner.

“Californians’ dissatisfaction with crime rates and homelessness across the state are playing out in these campaigns, and dissatisfaction could lead them to possibly reconsider electing someone who so far has been a fairly popular incumbent mayor,” Kousser said.

Todd Gloria’s campaign manager, Jen Tierney, said in a statement, “Voters should understand what is happening: This is the latest attempt by far-right, Trump Republican forces looking to undermine the progress Mayor Gloria has made and take San Diego backward. San Diego deserves leaders like Mayor Gloria who reflect its values – not those of far-right extremists. We are going to fight to protect the progress we’ve made and keep San Diego moving forward.”