Outside spending surges in California superintendent primary

Independent expenditures began pouring into California’s state superintendent of public instruction primary in late April and early May, led by a $5 million-plus push by the California Teachers Association to support Richard Barrera. Meanwhile, direct donation

For weeks, the campaign finance filings for California’s state superintendent of public instruction primary showed familiar movement: candidates raising money, reporting it, preparing for the Tuesday primary deadline.

Then, late in the cycle—late April into early May—the filings started to look different. Independent expenditures surged as outside organizations began spending to support their preferred candidate, shifting the balance from what each campaign could raise on its own to what allied groups could buy.

The most visible push came from the California Teachers Association’s independent expenditure committee. It spent over $5 million on consulting and ads to support Richard Barrera, a longtime San Diego Unified board trustee. The California Charter School Association followed with additional support, spending $40,000 on TV and online ads for Barrera.

What stood out was the timing. The outside spending ramped up late in the cycle compared to the 2018 state superintendent primary race, when the flow of such money moved differently.

Direct donations told another part of the story—but with less drama. Between the previous April 18 campaign finance filings and the May 16 deadline. the last filing before Tuesday’s primary. candidates for state superintendent of public instruction raised more than $300. 000 in direct monetary donations. That total was an increase of 18% over the previous total across the eight candidates who filed their forms electronically.

Anthony Rendon, a former state Assembly speaker, led both the fundraising and the growth. His campaign saw nearly $155,000 in direct donations, and his total monetary donations increased by 36%. Rendon’s number also came with a complication: he entered the race already carrying $1.1 million from his previous campaign for state treasurer.

Al Muratsuchi, a state Assembly member, came next with $61,000 in contributions. Josh Newman, a senior fellow at UC Irvine, reported $42,000.

Outside spending may have grabbed the headlines, but individual donors also mattered in the filings. Sonja Shaw. board president of the Chino Valley Unified School District. added the most individual donors. with 318 people or organizations giving to her campaign for the first time since the last filing.

For Barrera, outside support came with direct donor activity too. In the latter half of April and the first half of May, 195 new first-time donors gave to his campaign.

Rendon’s donor growth looked smaller on paper—he added 37 new donors—yet those numbers still more than doubled his previous total of 28.

Taken together. the filings show a primary where candidate fundraising rose by a measurable amount. but independent expenditures moved faster and at far larger scale—especially on behalf of Richard Barrera. The result is a race where voters will see not only the efforts campaigns can finance. but also the spending power of outside groups appearing late. when attention is already turning to the finish line.

California schools state superintendent primary campaign finance independent expenditures Richard Barrera California Teachers Association California Charter School Association Anthony Rendon Al Muratsuchi Josh Newman Sonja Shaw