Noah Berger/AP Photo Jenner campaign in debt as California recall hits homestretchOAKLAND Caitlyn Jennifers gubernatorial campaign has piling up debt, according to filings. The celebrity and ex-Olympian is struggling to make headway during Californias recall race.The campaign raised approximately $747,000 from the time Jenners candidacy was launched to the end of July and spent about $910,000. She left her campaign with $156,000 in unpaid bills, and about $21,000 for the final stretch of the races.Over 25% of the money went to WinRed, a fundraising platform that allows people to donate to causes they care about.Jenners fundraising is behind that of former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and radio host Larry Elder. All the other replacement candidates are far behind Gov. Gavin Newsom has raised over $40 million to fight recall. He can collect donations with no contribution limits.More information: Jenners campaign paid $182,000 to WinRed. This is the same platform that former President Donald Trump used, and it remains popular with conservative candidates. Jenners campaign, like Trump, increased its win through WinRed by autochecking a box which signs supporters up to recurring donations.This would be a large contribution cut, but Jenner also uses WinRed to sell merchandise from T-shirts and leashes to dogs.Parscale Strategy, LLC, a firm headed by Parscale, has received approximately $67,000 from the campaign. It spent $25,000 on Fleischers media strategy company Ari Fleischer Communications.Parscale Strategy reported spending of $1,800 at Nobu, a luxurious Malibu restaurant, as well as $1,300 on a limousine service that took Jenner to Los Angeles meetings.Jenner Response: Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated Monday that the campaign has a strong house file of donors and supporters. He also promised that the campaign would be fully funded to enter "the final stretch of election with all the resources necessary to end Gavin Newsom’s tenure as governor."Cheung stated that Caitlyn is well-known, with a name recognition of over 99%. Other candidates will need to spend a lot of money to improve their name identification.The big picture: Jenner jumped into the race with a lot of name recognition and has received national media attention, but she hasn't been able turn this attention into political momentum. According to polls, Jenner is a political novice who ranks in the single digits behind Republican candidates.Last week's Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies/Los Angeles Times poll showed Jenner tied for fifth with 3 percent support.Jenner faces a greater mountain because of a lack of financial resources. A statewide campaign covering all of California's media markets costs millions. The time is running out. Ballots will be sent to the mail mid-August in advance of the September 14th vote.Carla Marinucci contributed this report.
