LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Shortly after rolling out a wave of his progressive, common sense priorities for Washington, today businessman Harley Rouda’s campaign for California’s 48th Congressional District announced that it had topped $100,000 raised from independent donors. Rouda, who announced his candidacy just 12 days ago, raked-in over $100,000 in contributions from donors, ensuring that his campaign is flush with donations and well-prepared to wage a winning campaign.
In making public today’s fundraising numbers, Maclen Zilber, one of Rouda’s campaign consultants, released the following statement: “These early fundraising numbers are a testament to the magnitude of wide-ranging support Harley is building on a daily basis in this campaign. Harley is working his heart out every day to build support, raise resources, and engage volunteers. In order to bring transformational overhaul and new leadership to the 48th District, it’s going to take substantial resources and an expansive coalition of support, and we are well on our way to strong showings in both categories. Our campaign is incredibly encouraged by this early and strong showing and we’re firmly committed to putting our feet on the gas to further accelerate our efforts in the weeks and months ahead. Think about it – he’s raising almost $10,000 a day in independent donations and that is unprecedented.”
Recently Rouda was endorsed by former California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Laguna Beach Mayor Toni Iseman. Yesterday he unveiled a partial set of his priorities for the U.S. House of Representatives, including:
- Investigating, to its fullest any and all countries and individuals, including Russia, that were, as well as those who may have been, involved in attacking, impacting, and/or influencing our most sacred foundational pillar – true elections in the world’s leading democracy; supporting a non-partisan, independent investigation as well as empowering an independent prosecutor to spearhead this effort.
- Thoroughly investigating President Trump’s claims of wire-tapping and voter fraud and, if there is evidence, taking appropriate action. And, equally, if there is no evidence, taking appropriate action against any and all individuals, including the President himself, who propagated such information.
- Addressing global warming and its clear long-term impact on historical weather patterns and rising oceans; reducing our nation’s use of fossil fuels and investing more in clean, renewable energy; and promoting fuel efficiency and adoption of electric vehicles.
- Protecting Medicare and Social Security by keeping promises made to our seniors and ensuring that they can retire with dignity.
- Passing compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform that both secures the border and provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented individuals in our county; passing the federal DREAM Act; and making our country a beacon to attract and retain the world’s top talent.
- Improving the care we provide our returning veterans to make sure they get the best healthcare possible, as well as expanding job-training, education, home-ownership, and career opportunities.
- Recognizing that basic healthcare is a fundamental right in developed countries; and that the Affordable Care Act is still in need of improvements, updates and enhancement, and that we need to fight to prevent its repeal.
- Fighting tooth and nail against off-shore oil drilling along the California coast, especially off of Orange County beaches.
- Advancing equal pay for equal work to ensure gender equity in the workplace and in our ever-evolving economy.
- Increasing and indexing the federal minimum wage to reduce income inequality and poverty, and addressing the ever-increasing income and wealth divide in our country.
- Fighting for a fairer tax code that promotes small businesses; working towards a balanced budget; and supporting smart regulation that stimulates economic development while creating a sustainable business climate for our children and future generations.
- Abolishing Citizens United to reform the current corrupt campaign finance system that gives special interests and the Washington establishment immense power to influence elections.
- Working to avoid all unwanted pregnancies through education and by providing easy, and free, access to birth control; protecting women’s rights and women’s choice over their own bodies, and safeguarding funding for Planned Parenthood.
- Addressing student loan debt by allowing students to refinance at lower rates while also making higher education more accessible and affordable for our students.
- Continuing the fight to end discrimination against minorities and individuals in the LGBTQ community.
Previously Rouda released the following statement as he rolled out his initial agenda items for Congress:
“I’ll admit it — I’m not a politician. I’m a businessman who works to get things done. For far too long, politicians in Washington have squabbled, played political games and engaged in brinkmanship. In fact, they’ve done a whole lot of all that, and not a lot of problem-solving. I’m running to change this dynamic and to put common sense and pragmatism ahead of politics.
“It’s why I want voters to know who I am, where I stand on the issues, and what I plan to deliver on their behalf. With so much at stake in the years ahead, I believe that candor, levelheadedness and a fresh approach is what’s needed in Congress. These are the reasons that today I unveiled a set of my initial priorities for Washington. We have a lot to get done, and I’ll be releasing other priorities in the months ahead, but these agenda items are right at the forefront.”
Rouda announced his campaign less than two weeks ago. Recently, he spoke to a crowd of over 600 grassroots activists at an event organized by local Democratic Clubs and the Orange County Democratic Party. To view his remarks, please visit his Facebook page here and scroll down to his Facebook live coverage from the event.
Harley Rouda is a successful businessman who has created several successful companies, and now serves on the board on numerous companies in a variety of industries. Rouda received an MBA from The Ohio State University, and a J.D. from Capital University Law School. He lives in Laguna Beach, with his wife Kaira Rouda, a bestselling author. They have four children. Active in numerous charities and civic organizations over the years, Harley has been involved in fighting homelessness and domestic violence; active with Human Rights Watch; supporting education for the disadvantaged as well as supporting access to higher education; saving military jobs; and working with civic organizations to drive economic development.
The 48th Congressional District is considered a ripe pickup opportunity for Democrats, as Hillary Clinton won the district by 2%. The district is seen as all the more winnable given that Rohrabacher is one of Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress. The 48th Congressional district also had one of the largest swings of any Congressional district in the country from 2012 to 2016, with more than 13 percentage points at the presidential level shifting to Democratic.
For more information, please visit www.HarleyforCongress.com. Follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.