*By Christian Smith* With less than two weeks until election day, a California Democrat, Harley Rouda, has gotten a $4.3 million boost from Michael Bloomberg in his bid to take down 30-year incumbent Republican Congressman Rohrabacher. Bloomberg's Independence USA PAC disclosed the spending last week, which went to advertising targeting the Republican. Rouda said Bloomberg's ad campaign will help bring the issue of climate change to the forefront of voters' minds in the coastal Orange County district. "We're thrilled to have Bloomberg's support, and more importantly calling attention to that really important issue of climate change, which my opponent Dana Rohrabacher basically calls junk science," Rouda said Monday in an interview on Cheddar. "It's certainly going to boost voters' awareness of Rohrabacher's atrocious record in addressing climate change, and more importantly the fact that he's been in the pocket of special interest groups like big oil and big gas," he added. The U.S. House race is now dead-even in California's 48th District, went for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Orange County is a key target for the Democratic Party, which used to be a stronghold for the Reagan-era Republican party, but has trended blue in recent years. The race became the most expensive in the country after billionaire Michael Bloomberg's infusion of ad spending. More than $18.2 million has been spent on the race in total. Recent polls have the race as a tie. The latest Monmouth University poll puts Rep. Rohrabacher ahead of Rouda 50 to 48 percent, which is within the margin of error, and a recent New York Times poll has the two at an even 45-45 split with 10 percent of respondents saying they are undecided. With the race a virtual tie just a week from election day, Rouda said his team of volunteers will be key to winning the race. "What's going to get us over the finish line is what got us to where we are now and that is our incredible volunteers," Rouda said. "We have almost 5,000 volunteers now and they're knocking on doors and making phone calls because they want real change." For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/californias-48th-district-becomes-most-expensive-house-race-in-u-s).

Share:
More In Politics
May I Have This Seat? Predicting Next Supreme Court Justice
Heather Timmons, White House correspondent for Quartz, discusses the fallout from Justice Anthony Kennedy's announcement that he will retire from the Supreme Court on July 31. Timmons says the frontrunner for his seat is U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
N2K: 7 States Hold Midterm Primaries, Manchin Offers Potential Gun Control Path, 5 Tampa Bay Rays Players Refuse Pride Patch
Here are your Need2Know stories for Tuesday June 7, 2022: Today, voters head to the polls for primary elections in California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota. Senator Joe Manchin said he would support raising age requirements for gun purchases to 21. Manchin told CNN he also "wouldn't have a problem looking at" a ban on AR-15 assault rifles. Meanwhile, five players on the Tampa Bay Rays roster opted not to wear a patch added to its uniforms intended to celebrate pride month.
Why Russia Resumed Attacks on Kyiv
Russia resumed attacks on the Ukrainian capital for the first time in months after vowing to focus its resources on the eastern region known as 'the Donbas.' Cheddar News Speaks with national security and foreign policy analyst Ari Aramesh on the latest developments surrounding Ukraine.
Load More