Democratic Congresswoman Suzan DelBene is off to a solid start in raising money for her 2016 re-election campaign.
She raised nearly $240,000 in the three-month period ending Sept. 30 and had $508,203 on hand, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Meanwhile, her Republican opponent, state Rep. Elizabeth Scott, took in $27,468 in the same period and reported $23,529 on hand to begin October, according to her federal campaign filing.
DelBene is seeking a third term representing the 1st Congressional District that covers communities from the Canadian border south to King County. It takes in part of Snohomish County, including the cities of Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Sultan and Monroe.
Her federal reports show that she’s raised nearly $700,000 this year of which $349,086 came from individuals and $327,000 from political action committees. She’s also received some funds from Democratic Party organizations.
Scott has served in the state House since 2013. She launched her campaign for Congress in April and collected nearly $60,000 in contributions so far, all from individual donors.
She declined to be interviewed for this story. In a statement issued Oct. 8, Scott said she closed the third quarter fundraising period with “strong momentum.”
“I am going to keep working hard, keep meeting voters to listen to their concerns and suggestions, and keep talking about my vision and common-sense solutions for the problems that plague this country,” she said in the statement.
Scott had hoped to raise at least $100,000 by the end of September. Had she eclipsed that amount it would have earned her ‘On the Radar’ status with the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), she explained to supporters in a Sept. 18 fundraising letter.
That would have put her on the first level of the NRCC’s “Young Guns” program, which provides financial and political aid to candidates in competitive congressional races.
According to the NRCC, “On the Radar” candidates have met “the minimum threshold in campaign organization and show potential to achieve greater status in the program as the cycle progresses.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen hauled in $120,800 in the most recent fund-raising period and had $354,062 on hand as of Sept. 30. His total included $23,000 from individuals and the remainder from political action committees.
Larsen is in his eighth term representing the 2nd Congressional District that includes all of Island and San Juan counties and parts of Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties. Everett is the most populous city in the district.
Larsen doesn’t have a Republican challenger yet.
Mike LaPointe, an Everett Democrat, declared his candidacy in September. LaPointe ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2012 and 2014.
The full campaign reports can be found at Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; > Give us your news tips. > Send us a letter to the editor. > More Herald contact information.Talk to us