Democrat Phil Arballo, who is running to unseat Rep. Devin Nunes Devin Gerald NunesOvernight Defense: Stopgap spending measure awaits Senate vote | Trump nominates former Nunes aide for intelligence community watchdog | Trump extends ban on racial discrimination training to contractors, military Trump nominates former Nunes aide to serve as intel community inspector general Sunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election MORE (R-Calif.), said on Sunday that his campaign raised nearly $300,000 over the past week and a half as House Democrats began to hold public hearings as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry.

When asked by MSNBC’s David Guar about developments in his campaign since the public hearings began two weeks ago, Arballo said his team has enjoyed a “tremendous groundswell of grassroots support" for his campaign in the Central Valley.

“I think people are really understanding from this last week and a half what Devin Nunes is really about and that’s about serving in his best interest and the best interest of this president,” Arballo went on to say of Nunes, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee and staunch supporter of President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE.

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“We raised almost nearly $300,000 in the last week and a half from nearly 10,000 individual contributors, with an average donation of $22. So, this is really a grassroots campaign to take out Devin Nunes in 2020,” Arballo continued.

“We are familiar with his background in dairy farming, talks a lot about the Central Valley, what do you say to constituents who say, ‘This is a guy who’s from this place, this is an agricultural breadbasket, he is of us.’ How do you make the case for your candidacy versus his?” Guar asked.

“Well, it’s simple. I am here. I’m present. I’m invested. My family — this is where I grew up,” Arballo said. “This is where I’m raising my family, in the Central Valley. Devin Nunes hasn’t been a farmer in almost nearly two decades and he is a career politician who has lost sight of his job as a representative of the 22nd Congressional District, right here in the Central Valley.”

Arballo went on to add that he thinks of himself as “just a regular guy” and said his only interest in the race is “what’s best for my family, for my children and their future here in the Central Valley.”



Nunes’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Arballo, a Mexican American businessman, first entered the race against Nunes in June. He is one of three Democratic candidates currently vying for the party’s nomination in the race to unseat the seven-term congressman.