In a report issued in 2000, Common Cause of California found that tribes gave Bustamante $664,894 between 19, placing third during that period after Davis and Dave Stirling, a Republican who ran for state attorney general in 1998.īustamante has raised an additional $843,000 from tribes and tribal casino interests, or slightly more than 12% of the $6.9 million he has raised since 1999 when he took office as lieutenant governor, reports filed with the secretary of state show.Īt a news conference to announce his plans to run in the recall election, Bustamante sidestepped a question about the amount of money he hopes tribes will spend on his campaign. But the tribes also are benefactors for several elected officials, Bustamante among them. The bulk of that money was spent on two statewide ballot measures. Tribes have spent more than $120 million on state political campaigns since 1998, making them the biggest spenders on California politics in recent years. That approach allows tribes and others to exceed the limits on donations to individual candidates. The tribes are regular contributors to state campaigns and have used their growing wealth to finance independent expenditure efforts, in which donors wage their campaigns on behalf of an issue or candidate rather than donating money to the main campaign. Particularly in a campaign in which candidates will have to raise money quickly, tribal support could be important to Bustamante. Bustamante was allowed to accept that money, although it exceeds the contribution limit, because that committee was formed before the state’s contribution laws took effect this year. Just last week, the Viejas donated $35,000 to Bustamante’s lieutenant governor committee.

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