CRP makes first investment in Audra Strickland's Assembly re-election campaign

The California Republican Party gave $125,000 to Assemblywoman Audra Strickland's re-election campaign on Tuesday, according to financial disclosures. While the party has routinely made similar investments in various competitive races around the state, the donation marked the CRP's first in the 37th Assembly District. The sum, while merely a drop in the CRP's financial bucket, is significant considering Strickland had less than that much in cash on hand at the beginning of the month.

On Tuesday, Democratic strategists told reporters that an internal poll of the 37th showed a race between a generic Democrat vs. Republican as a dead heat. The poll was touted as a sign of wide-spread anti-Republican sentiment. The strategists themselves were surprised by the results, and the California Democratic Party has yet to invest in Democratic candidate Ferial Masry.

Over the weekend, Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico told PolitickerCA.com that the 37th Assembly District was on the verge of being competitive this year, though he expected Democrats would have to wait till 2010, when Strickland will be termed out, to pick up the seat.

Democrats, who currently occupy 48 seats in the State Assembly, are six seats away from a two-thirds majority, which would allow them to pass state budgets without Republican cooperation. This year's budget was 85 days late largely because Republicans refused to vote for any compromise that included a tax increase.

ELSEWHERE on PolitickerCA.com:

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