Sen. Kamala Harris has raised more money in Santa Monica than any other Democratic candidate for president, according to data released this week.
Santa Monicans have donated more than $265,000 to Harris’ campaign and she is the top fundraiser across all five zip codes in the city. The next highest fundraiser, South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, has pulled in a little more than $156,000 and former Vice President Joe Biden came in third with about $93,000.
Residents also donated almost $77,000 to Sen. Bernie Sanders and $75,000 to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke raised only $23,000.
While Harris is leading the pack in her home state of California, Sanders has raised the most money across the country. As a whole, Santa Monica aligned with other well-to-do communities in California, which typically favored Harris by a wide margin. Sanders was more popular in working-class and rural areas.
Even though Harris was by far the top fundraiser in Santa Monica, the contrasting preferences of the city’s five zip codes illustrated the political divides among Democrats of different income levels. Harris drew the most donations in all five, but whether she was followed by Buttigieg and Biden or Sanders and Warren correlated with the relative wealth of each zip code.
90402, an affluent zip code north of Montana Avenue, led Santa Monica in total fundraising. Residents donated about $102,000 to Harris, $82,000 to Buttigieg and almost $50,000 to Biden. Warren came in fourth with $21,000 and Sanders trailed with $8,000.
In the Wilmont and Northeast neighborhoods, which make up the 90403 zip code, residents also favored Harris and Buttigieg. The two candidates collected about $41,000 and $24,000, respectively.
But Wilmont and Northeast residents favored Sanders more than their Noma neighbors, donating almost $20,000 to his campaign. Warren took less than $18,000 and Biden just $12,000.
Residents of 90404, which encompasses parts of Mid-City and the historically diverse Pico neighborhood, primarily favored Harris, Sanders and Warren. They gave Harris more than $22,000 and Sanders almost $13,000.
Warren raised more than $11,000, ahead of Biden’s $10,000 and Buttigieg’s $8,000.
In the 90405 zip code, which corresponds to the Ocean Park and Sunset Park neighborhoods, Harris drew $60,000. Buttigieg raised $40,000, Sanders pulled in $28,000 and Warren collected $24,000. Residents donated about $20,000 to Biden’s campaign.
Harris led downtown Santa Monica, or the 90401 zip code, with $40,000. Buttigieg and Sanders drew a modest $10,000 and $8,000, respectively. Biden and Warren each collected slightly less than $2,000.
Sanders, who held a rally at Santa Monica High School last week, is the only candidate who has visited Santa Monica, but each candidate has made a stop in Los Angeles at least once this year.
Nearby Pacific Palisades and Brentwood both donated the most money to Harris, followed by Buttigieg and Biden. Venice also preferred Harris, but Buttigieg and Warren placed second and third place in fundraising.
madeleine@smdp.com
