Campaign fundraising for 2018 has already begun. Anticipate a 2016 redux.

Politics has become bloodsport in Washington, and with four candidates already signed up to run for an open State Senate seat in 2018, the Central Coast might take on a similar complexion.

State Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, terms out next year after eight years representing District 12, which includes Salinas and all four South County cities, then sprawls over the Gabilan Mountains to cover Central Valley cities like Los Banos and Merced.

While candidates cannot file paperwork to get their names on the ballot for the June 5 primary until February, they can form fundraising committees, and there’s already early fundraising underway. According to the latest campaign finance reports, which were due on July 31, Assemblymember Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, raised $137,000 in the first half of this year. (Caballero did not respond to a request for comment by the Weekly’s deadline.)

That puts her squarely in the fundraising lead. Dennis Brazil, also a Democrat and a former mayor of Gustine who lost a bid for re-election last fall, formed a committee to run for State Senate but reports no fundraising to date. Same goes for Andrew Russo, a Republican campaign strategist. County Supervisor Luis Alejo, who moved from Watsonville to Salinas in order to run for his current seat, has a balance of nearly $83,000 in his 2018 State Senate fund, though his latest reports show fundraising on that front has gone quiet, at least for now.

Meanwhile, five candidates have formed committees to run for Assembly District 30, which covers Salinas and all of South County, the Big Sur coast and extends north to Morgan Hill.

One is Peter Leroe-Muñoz, a Gilroy City Councilmember who ran for in 2016 – but dropped out after political veteran Caballero entered the race. (She won handily, and terms out next year.)

His primary issue is public safety, he says. “Another is job creation and workforce development. We look at areas of the district that are only an hour from Silicon Valley and they might as well be a world away,” Leroe-Muñoz adds. “The jobs are just not accessible to young professionals in our district. Finding a way to strengthen that linkage between our district and Silicon Valley is very important.”

He’s raised $23,000 so far this year, a small step toward what he anticipates will be a $700,000 campaign.

Karina Cervantez Alejo, who ran and lost to Caballero last year, has also stopped her campaign machinery for now while she works on completing her doctorate in psychology, but remains ready to pick up the pieces. “I have a committee set up, a strong network of continuing support, and am always ready to work hard,” she says.

Also running is another return candidate, John Nevill of King City. Russo, the Republican strategist, has also formed a committee for the Assembly seat – presumably as a placeholder before he has to choose one or the other. (Russo did not respond to a request for comment.)

Prunedale real estate investor and residential property manager Neil Kitchens has also formed a committee and is actively campaigning. He says his top issue is housing.