Healdsburg woman brings presidential candidates to Sonoma County
Special guests
The past two election cycles have seen a number of presidential candidates make fundraising stops in Sonoma County. Apart from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke, who were in the county in the past few years, but not for fundraisers, here’s who has been hosted:
Kirsten Gillibrand — She has since bowed out of the 2020 race, but Gillibrand visited Sonoma County on March 9 for a fundraiser in Healdsburg while she was still exploring a run. There are $4,150 in donations earmarked for Gillibrand from Sonoma County residents on that date. Healdsburg residents Tony Crabb and Barbara Grasseschi combined to give $5,600 to Gillibrand a month before her visit.
Kamala Harris — She’s now polling in the 6% range, and well out of the conversation for top dog candidates, but when Harris made her stop at the Healdsburg Hotel on July 19, she was a top four candidate. In fact, she was only a couple of weeks removed from being No. 2 in the polls, according to realclearpolitics.com. Like Gillibrand, Harris was hosted by Electing Women Bay Area.
Julian Castro — He’s polling at about 1% and sits well below heavy hitters in terms of fundraising, having raised about $4.5 million to date. Castro is scheduled to be in Windsor on Thursday for a couple of hours, starting with a VIP fundraising luncheon and closing with a lunch rally.
Pete Buttigieg — This hasn’t yet been confirmed, but Supervisor James Gore said Buttigieg is the next target for a visit. “Mayor Pete” would be a major get for Sonoma County, as he was second only to Sanders in second-quarter fundraising, with nearly $25 million raised. He’s polling near 6% nationally.
Sonoma County favorites
The following represent 2019 donations to presidential campaigns through June 30. The donations were sorted by zip code, meaning there is some spillover with Marin, Mendocino, Lake and Napa counties. The totals below represent only donations to candidate committees, and don’t include donations to political action committees supporting those candidates.
Total raised: $408,179.71
Total donations: 3,508
Top candidates: Kamala Harris ($108,972.59), Bernie Sanders ($64,396.47), Elizabeth Warren ($46,389.16), Pete Buttigieg ($40,522.82), Kirsten Gillibrand ($28,557), Joe Biden ($28,299.40)
President Donald Trump: $27,774.67
Note: Julian Castro has just five donations from four Sonoma County residents totaling $980.80
Source: Federal Elections Commission
National players
These are the top contributors to past candidate campaigns, recount efforts, parties and traditional PACs, by Sonoma County residents.
Election year: 2018
Banke, Barbara Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates
Total contributions: $314,153
Rank nationally: 353
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 2%
Barbara Grasseschi
Total contributions: $264,325
Rank nationally: 482
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
Tony Crabb
Total contributions: $244,330
Rank nationally: 564
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 99%
John Fisher
Total contributions: $181,900
Rank: 884
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
How about 2016?
Banke, Barbara Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates
Total contributions: $804,823
Rank nationally: 74
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 0%
Craig Ramsey
Total contributions: $556,500
Rank: 165
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
Barbara Grasseschi
Total contributions: $255,450
Rank nationally: 694
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
Tony Crabb
Total contributions: $193,582
Rank nationally: 1,004
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
Elizabeth Cabraser
Total contributions: $185,989
Rank nationally: 1,064
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
*The remaining percentage of contributions went to GOP candidates and PACs.
Iron Horse Vineyards CEO Joy Sterling can remember a time when the sight of a presidential candidate schmoozing in Sonoma County didn’t necessarily turn heads.
This would have been in the 1980s, when former U.S. Rep. Doug Bosco was hosting the likes of Dick Gephardt and Walter Mondale, when, in Bosco’s words, “it was a lot easier to get together 50 of my best friends.”
Sterling’s parents, Barry and Audrey Sterling, went to Stanford University with William Rehnquist, the former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who died in 2005, and retired associate justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and were later regular hosts of big-name political figures, Joy said.
Despite hosting O’Connor in 2014, the elderly Sterlings don’t entertain as much as they once did. Neither does Bosco, leaving a vacuum for the type of power and perseverance necessary to attract big-name candidates to a spot that’s not quite San Francisco and not quite Napa.
In the past couple of years, Sonoma County has experienced a revival as a fundraising springboard for presidential candidates thanks to Healdsburg’s Barbara Grasseschi. Three 2020 hopefuls have made, or plan to make, stops in Sonoma County this year. A fourth could come by the end of the year, and each visit has been arranged by Grasseschi, who owns Puma Springs Vineyards with her husband, Tony Crabb, who also donates to candidates.
“There was no one organizing people up here,” Grasseschi said. “If (residents) ever wanted to see them to ask a question, they’d have to drive to San Francisco. Now there’s a chance to do that here.”
This week, presidential candidate Julian Castro, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017, will make a fundraising stop in Windsor. Before the year is out, Grasseschi wants to bring South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg to the area.
“If you look back historically, on the one hand, it’s new; on the other hand, it’s a little bit of a throwback to my parents’ generation,” Sterling said.
Why Sonoma County?
Sterling, the chairwoman of the California Democratic Party Rural Caucus, said the visits are important to put Sonoma County — and the issues important to its residents — on the map.
She’s partial to rural topics, and said despite outside appearances, Sonoma County — particularly the western half — embodies that rural lifestyle.
“The prevailing wisdom is that the road to victory is through the rural communities of the nation,” Sterling said. “It’s great for Sonoma County to be a voice and a representative for those specific interests and concerns. That gives us the opportunity, once (the candidates) come talk to us, we get to hold them to account.”
You have to look back three decades to get to such a rash of visits from presidential hopefuls, including former Senator and Vice President Mondale, former House Majority Leader Gephardt and President Ronald Reagan, who also announced his candidacy for California governor in Healdsburg. The Sterlings, who settled in Wine Country in the late 1970s, had a hand in many of the visits.
Bosco was involved, too, Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore said.
Crabb said via text message that Grasseschi is the key driver of the couple’s political work, and Grasseschi said her husband’s role is purely as a donor. In that case, she is responsible for the resurgence, including what Gore called a growing number of visits from all levels of government.
Special guests
The past two election cycles have seen a number of presidential candidates make fundraising stops in Sonoma County. Apart from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke, who were in the county in the past few years, but not for fundraisers, here’s who has been hosted:
Kirsten Gillibrand — She has since bowed out of the 2020 race, but Gillibrand visited Sonoma County on March 9 for a fundraiser in Healdsburg while she was still exploring a run. There are $4,150 in donations earmarked for Gillibrand from Sonoma County residents on that date. Healdsburg residents Tony Crabb and Barbara Grasseschi combined to give $5,600 to Gillibrand a month before her visit.
Kamala Harris — She’s now polling in the 6% range, and well out of the conversation for top dog candidates, but when Harris made her stop at the Healdsburg Hotel on July 19, she was a top four candidate. In fact, she was only a couple of weeks removed from being No. 2 in the polls, according to realclearpolitics.com. Like Gillibrand, Harris was hosted by Electing Women Bay Area.
Julian Castro — He’s polling at about 1% and sits well below heavy hitters in terms of fundraising, having raised about $4.5 million to date. Castro is scheduled to be in Windsor on Thursday for a couple of hours, starting with a VIP fundraising luncheon and closing with a lunch rally.
Pete Buttigieg — This hasn’t yet been confirmed, but Supervisor James Gore said Buttigieg is the next target for a visit. “Mayor Pete” would be a major get for Sonoma County, as he was second only to Sanders in second-quarter fundraising, with nearly $25 million raised. He’s polling near 6% nationally.
Sonoma County favorites
The following represent 2019 donations to presidential campaigns through June 30. The donations were sorted by zip code, meaning there is some spillover with Marin, Mendocino, Lake and Napa counties. The totals below represent only donations to candidate committees, and don’t include donations to political action committees supporting those candidates.
Total raised: $408,179.71
Total donations: 3,508
Top candidates: Kamala Harris ($108,972.59), Bernie Sanders ($64,396.47), Elizabeth Warren ($46,389.16), Pete Buttigieg ($40,522.82), Kirsten Gillibrand ($28,557), Joe Biden ($28,299.40)
President Donald Trump: $27,774.67
Note: Julian Castro has just five donations from four Sonoma County residents totaling $980.80
Source: Federal Elections Commission
National players
These are the top contributors to past candidate campaigns, recount efforts, parties and traditional PACs, by Sonoma County residents.
Election year: 2018
Banke, Barbara Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates
Total contributions: $314,153
Rank nationally: 353
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 2%
Barbara Grasseschi
Total contributions: $264,325
Rank nationally: 482
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
Tony Crabb
Total contributions: $244,330
Rank nationally: 564
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 99%
John Fisher
Total contributions: $181,900
Rank: 884
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
How about 2016?
Banke, Barbara Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates
Total contributions: $804,823
Rank nationally: 74
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 0%
Craig Ramsey
Total contributions: $556,500
Rank: 165
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
Barbara Grasseschi
Total contributions: $255,450
Rank nationally: 694
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
Tony Crabb
Total contributions: $193,582
Rank nationally: 1,004
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
Elizabeth Cabraser
Total contributions: $185,989
Rank nationally: 1,064
Percentage to Democratic candidates/PACs: 100%
*The remaining percentage of contributions went to GOP candidates and PACs.