State Sen. Padilla builds fundraising lead in secretary of state race

State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, second from left, a candidate for secretary of state, responds to a question during a candidates debate in April. Padilla debated fellow Democrat Derek Cressman, left, Republican Pete Peterson, third from left, and Dan Schnur, a USC professor running as an independent, right.

May 23, 2014 9:17 AM PT

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Reporting from Sacramento — State Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) has extended his big lead in campaign fundraising among the seven candidates for California secretary of state, reporting late Thursday that he has brought in $2.2 million so far.

Finance reports for the period ending May 17 show that Padilla has $340,235 in cash left in the bank as the June 3 primary nears.

Derek Cressman, a Democrat and former administrator at Common Cause, reported raising the second largest amount in the campaign so far, $620,000, including $354,000 in loans and contributions from his personal finances. He ended the period with $53,00 in cash on hand.

Dan Schnur, a “no-party-preference” candidate who teaches political science at USC, has brought in $455,415, and had $99,868 left in the account as of Saturday.

Republican Pete Peterson reported raising $174,916, with $11,639 left over. He is executive director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership, a think tank at Pepperdine University.

Green Party candidate David Curtis has raised $6,243, while Democrat Jeffrey H. Drobman and Republican Roy Allmond have not yet reported raising any money.

State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) will also be on the ballot, but he dropped out of the campaign earlier this year after he was indicted on federal corruption charges.