Honda’s challenger brings in $400K for latest quarter

Former Commerce Department official Ro Khanna (D) raised more than $400,000 in the last fundraising quarter for his bid against Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), Khanna’s campaign announced Tuesday morning.

Khanna’s latest large fundraising haul brings his cash on hand to $2 million, a daunting sum for the race, though it marks the second quarter in a row where he raised less than the quarter before.

{mosads}”I’m humbled by the outpouring of support that I’ve received for my message of changing the status quo in Washington,” Khanna said in a statement. “With this Congress officially the least productive in history, we clearly need a new direction. These critical resources will help us to continue building a grassroots organization that reaches voters on the issues that matter most to their families and communities.”

Honda raised $250,000 during the same period and had $620,000 in the bank as of the end of the year.

The race is on pace to be the most competitive — and most expensive — Democratic primary in the country this year, especially since the two candidates are likely to face off against one another twice during the race, both in the June all-party primary and again in November if they both make the runoff, as expected.

Honda, a longtime congressman who until recently was a vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has the backing of most of the national and California Democratic Party establishment, including President Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). But some top Obama campaign aides are helping Khanna’s campaign — and he’s raised money from some big-name donors in and outside Silicon Valley.

Khanna’s latest fundraising quarter includes contributions from centrist former Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.), former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo, former Hewlett Packard executive Todd Bradlaey, new age guru Deepak Chopra and Richard Edelman, the head of the global public relations firm that bears his last name.

Previous Khanna donors include Facebook chief executive Sheryl Sandberg and Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer.

This post was updated at 5:45 p.m.