A Democratic candidate for California’s 8th Congressional District has outraised incumbent Paul Cook in the last quarter. Chris Bubser, a former biotech executive who owns a vacation home in Mammoth, raised $205,000 in the last quarter, compared to $139,000 for Cook. However, Cook has more than $300,000 in campaign funds, two-thirds of which was donated by political action committees, or PACs. Nearly all of Bubser’s donations are from individual donations, and her campaign says she will refuse to accept donations from corporate PACs. Bubser announced her candidacy on Earth Day, and vows to make healthcare and the environment her main issues. A Cook campaign spokesman called Bubser “another would-be politician with a savior complex looking to import the failed policies of Los Angeles and coastal elitists to our rural district.” Bubser changed her voter registration to Mono County in January. The U.S. Constitution only requires that representatives live in the state they represent, but doesn’t require they live in the district. A third candidate, Peter Mathisen, has filed papers to run as an independent candidate in the 8th District.
