Huffington Post reports that Trump polyp Devin Nunes is raking in the donations. Nunes raised over $6 million in the first half of the year, through a mail campaign touting a Trump tweet which declared Nunes a "Great American Hero."
In a statement that received praise from ironists nationwide, Nunes claimed that “In standing up for transparency, the truth and the Constitution, [he has] earned the hatred of the revenge-driven members of the Democratic leadership cabal and the Far Left media.”
That "Far Left media" - Nunes seems to have adopted Trump's habit of Unnecessarily Capitalizing Words - includes the noted Communist broadsheet, the Fresno Bee, which reports that Nunes has adopted at least one more Trump habit: using campaign dollars to fund his 'lavish lifestyle'. Nunes has spent nearly $60,000 over the last five years on Boston Celtics tickets, winery tours, and trips to Las Vegas. I suppose it needn't be said that none of these expenditures in any way benefitted Nunes' district, though most have been claimed as "campaign expenses." (Notably, Nunes has spent more on trips to Vegas than any other member of Congress, since 2013.) When asked about his expenditures by a McClatchy reporter, Nunes ducked the question; his office did not respond to requests for comment.
In a statement to Huffington Post, Nunes' Challenger Andrew Janz said “I doubt his campaign donors intended their donations to be used for personal and lavish expenditures like basketball tickets and expensive wine tours," though unfortunately he has not made any similar statement to local media, at least that I have seen.
Janz still faces an uphill battle against Nunes, who has served in Congress since 2003. A recent poll placed Janz at an eight-point disadvantage: 49-41. While this may seem like a lost cause, consider that 10% of poll respondents were "undecided," and Nunes last won re-election by a margin of 35 points. Further, over the last decade the Republican candidate has twice run unopposed for Congress, in 2008 and 2010. (Kevin McCarthy was the candidate. In 2013 the district boundaries were re-drawn. McCarthy now represents the 23rd, while Nunes had previously represented the 21st.)
While an eight point margin is obviously significant, Janz is the strongest Democratic candidate in 20 years. "All politics is local," or so I've heard, and while Nunes was in Boston, rooting for the Celtics on his donors' dime, Janz was hitting the pavement, holding meetings with constituents, and collecting a record amount of local donations. There is a lot of time still left between now and November. A few more stories like this could cut further into Nunes' lead.