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H6CA40309
VARET, ESTHER KIM Challenger
5.9
Influence Score · 2026
Modestly backed
Non-incumbent — only contributions, independent expenditures, and dark-money exposure are scored.
Lobbying, vote alignment, bundle timing, and trade direction require committee assignments and
roll-call records, neither of which exist for a non-sitting candidate. Maximum reachable score is
about 23, on a challenger-only scale — incumbents are scored 0–100 across all twelve axes, so the two
are not directly comparable. See methodology.
Score components
| Axis | Raw | Normalized (pts) | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct contributions | $1.14M | 4.33 | 2026 cycle, principal committee |
| Outside spending — direct support | $517K | — | PACs that directly supported this candidate |
| Outside spending — indirect (OPPOSE against opponents) | $877K | — | OPPOSE spending against opponents in the same race, attributed proportionally |
| Outside spending — OPPOSE against this candidate | $3K | — | PACs that spent to defeat this candidate (not scored on this axis) |
| Total outside spending in favor | $1.39M | 1.58 | direct + indirect — drives the outside-spending axis |
| Lobbying exposure | — | — | Requires committee assignment |
| Vote alignment | — | — | Requires voting record |
| Contribution timing — money arriving near key votes | — | — | Requires recorded-vote calendar |
| Dark-money exposure | 0.0000 | 0.00 | Disclosed-vs-dark outside spending share |
| Personal trade direction | — | — | Requires STOCK Act filings |
Race matchup CA-40
| Candidate | Party | Status | Direct $ | Outside $ | Score | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALVERT, KEN | REP | Inc. | $2.02M | $1.76M | 64.2 | Most exposed |
| KIM, YOUNG | REP | Inc. | $2.30M | $9.17M | 63.9 | Most exposed |
| VARET, ESTHER KIM | DEM | Chal. | $1.14M | $1.39M | 5.9 | Modestly backed |
| GAGNIER, CHRISTINA | DEM | Chal. | $353K | $877K | 2.6 | Lightly backed |
| MEADE, PERRY | DEM | Chal. | $252K | $877K | 2.2 | Lightly backed |
| RAMIREZ, LISA D | DEM | Chal. | $172K | $877K | 1.9 | Lightly backed |
| KERR, JOSEPH | DEM | Chal. | $137K | $877K | 1.8 | Lightly backed |
| KEISSIEH, CLAUDE MANUEL | DEM | Chal. | $22K | $877K | 1.3 | Lightly backed |
Challenger and open-seat scores reflect contributions, outside spending, and dark-money exposure only — a maximum of about 23. They are not directly comparable to incumbent scores, which run 0–100 across all twelve axes. Compare the dollar columns (Direct $, Outside $) for a like-for-like view.