Flores challenger has $50k warchest

There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding Democrat Brent Barton’s candidacy for House District 51, and in some instances, even buzz about the buzz.

Republican State Rep. Linda Flores has represented the slightly Republican leaning district since 2002, (36% of voters are registered Dem, 39% GOP), and is renowned for her hard-line stance on illegal immigration. But many have been caught off guard by Barton’s fundraising prowess, and, in the midst of a political climate hostile to Republicans and in which there is a powerful hankering for change, Flores could have a fight on her hands.

According to the most recent campaign finance data, Barton, a young lawyer and first time candidate, reports having over $50,000 cash on hand, with $12,000 additional in pledges.

Flores, the incumbent, has only about $10,000 on hand, although it’s important to recognize the early stage of the campaign at this point.

“Look, he’s a bright young guy and seems to have been very effective in terms of getting a running start on the campaigning,” said Len Bergstein, a local political strategist and pundit. “He’s got a tidy sum of money already in, and he’s running against a fairly well-entrenched incumbent, but I’m not sure anybody is safe this year, and in a marginal district like this it comes down to hard work and knocking on doors, not necessarily party affiliation,” he said.

Barton conceded that the impressive fundraising numbers were not attained easily.

“It’s nearly killed me!” Barton joked, explaining that the level of difficulty involved with practicing law full time and raising enough money to compete has surprised him, but that there is nonetheless a very tangible sense of excitement behind his campaign.

“I think it’s a confluence of factors – there’s an appetite for change, but I think that it’s apparent that I’m a hard worker- people respond to that, as well as to my general approach to campaigning, which I think is a good fit for the district,” he said.

Barton has also received endorsements from a host of prominent Democrats, including Congresswoman Darlene Hooley, State Rep. Greg Macpherson, State Senators Rick Metsger and Ben Westlund, and U.S. Senate candidate Steve Novick.

But Barton said he had no joint appearances with any of his supporters planned at the moment, suggesting such events might appear overly partisan.

“The political excitement throughout the state has really shifted to the suburbs as opposed to the urban areas, and seeing what’s happening in a seat like this one that’s on the edge of the urban areas can really serve as a good index of what’s happening politically in the state,” Bergstein said.

Flores’ campaign had not responded with a comment by Monday evening.