In an interview, congressman Scott Peters admitted he had some debt after college...but it didn’t affect his ability to buy a house, car, and get married.

Democratic congressman Scott Peters, who has fought off a series of GOP challengers for his La Jolla district seat, is behind a new effort to divert San Diego Democrats from policies favored by the left. The New Democrat Coalition is “a group of pragmatic, problem-solving Democrats committed to pro-growth, pro-innovation, fiscally responsible policies in Congress,” said an emailed invitation to a September 17 $250-a-head fundraiser for NewDemPAC, the group’s political action committee, which is chaired by Peters. “I’m hosting this meeting with some of my colleagues — Reps. Kathleen Rice, Pete Aguilar, and Juan Vargas — to introduce San Diegans to the coalition and let them know how they can help elect like-minded leaders to join our ranks.”

The PAC raised $1,022,485 during the first half of the year, with just $105,985 coming from individual contributors, according to federal records. The largest single donation of $62,000 was made by the Caterpillar Employees PAC. Cable-TV giant Cox Enterprises gave $35,000. The Emerson Electric Co. Responsible Government Fund came up with $21,000, and Pfizer PAC provided $18,000. California high-tech venture capitalist John Doerr kicked in $5000.

Married to mega-millionaire Lynn Gorguze and closely aligned with Qualcomm billionaire Irwin Jacobs, Peters has lately attempted to cultivate a common-man image. In May, he told MarketWatch.com, “After I got out of college, I had some debt, but it was entirely manageable. It never really affected my ability to buy a house at the right time, get married or buy a car. That’s very different from what we see today.”