The race for controller, normally not what would be called a contentious struggle in California politics, continues to be one of the big campaign cash magnets this year.

Team 2006 (an independent expenditure committee formed by a group of casino-owning Southern California Native American tribes) and tax-preparation software firm Intuit have given over $2 million to Republican Tony Strickland.

The Ventura County Star and the San Francisco Chronicle report that Democratic candidate John Chiang has gotten a lot of late cash, with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians Native American Rights Fund giving almost $337,000 for radio ads in support of Chiang, and $1.9 million coming to his campaign coffers from Working California, a coalition of labor unions and Asian-American business groups.

According to an article in today’s Ventura County Star, Team 2006, the independent expenditure committee supporting Tony Strickland’s run for state controller, is also spending $100,000 for TV ad buys for the campaign of his wife, Audra Strickland, who is running for re-election in the 37th Assembly district against Ferial Masry.

According to the article, “The $100,000 spent on behalf of Audra Strickland in the Assembly race nearly matches the entire campaign fund of Strickland’s Democratic opponent.”

Audra Strickland told the newspaper, “I’m just pleased that people are out there helping me.”

The blogosphere is buzzing these final two weeks of the election season not about Schwarzenegger versus Angelides, but about Strickland versus Chiang (in the race for state controller) and McClintock versus Garamendi (in the race for lieutenant governor). A new independent expenditure committee, Team 2006, has been formed by five Native American tribes that operate casinos in Southern California. Four of the tribes have contributed nearly $9 million to Team 2006.
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