Reports show millions collected in some of state’s hot House races

Candidates in some of California’s hardest-fought congressional races continue to raise cash for campaigns that are costing millions, reports filed Thursday showed.

Campaign finance reports, covering the period from Oct. 1-15, were due at the Federal Election Commission by midnight. Several candidates beat that deadline by hours.

Among them were the two Democrats competing for a Bay Area congressional district. Former Obama administration official Ro Khanna had raised a total of $4.4 million in his challenge against Rep. Mike Honda of San Jose, who brought in $2.9 million. However, Honda had more left to spend at the end of the reporting period -- $420,000 to Khanna’s nearly $148,000.

In some of the more traditional, Republican-versus-Democrat races, Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) reported raising a total of nearly $3.6 million. His Republican challenger, businessman Carl DeMaio, reported almost $2.9 million. Peters had $684,000 cash on hand to DeMaio’s nearly $482,000.

In the contest to succeed retiring Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), state Sen. Ted Lieu reported bringing in more than $1.8 million while Republican Elan Carr, a gang prosecutor, raised $1.3 million. They were nearly even in cash remaining.

In a Central Valley race, Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) continued to hold a comfortable fundraising edge over Democratic challenger Amanda Renteria, a former congressional aide.

Valadao collected nearly $2.5 million to Renteria’s almost $1.5 million. Both candidates had spent most of their campaign treasuries by mid-month.

The reports reflect raising and spending through the middle of the month. After that, candidates are required to report contributions of $1,000 or more to the FEC within 48 hours of receiving them.

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