Larsen leads his opponents in fund-raising by 10-to-1

By Susanna Ray

Herald Writer

OLYMPIA — Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen is walloping his three Republican challengers when it comes to fund-raising, records indicate.

The congressional freshman from Lake Stevens had $441,118 in cash on hand at year’s end, according to new Federal Election Commission reports. That’s almost 10 times as much as his top GOP rival has amassed.

Norma Smith had $45,083 at year’s end, followed by Kelly Barlean with $20,661 and Herbert Meyer with $14,247.

"There’s nothing unusual in that," said Chris Vance, the state Republican Party chairman. "Incumbents raise their money early; challengers raise their money late."

Charla Neuman, Larsen’s spokeswoman, said his donations have come in a steady stream over the past year.

But the funding discrepancy will make it impossible for Republicans to win the race if Barlean, Meyer and Smith are focused on each other all the way through the September primary, rather than on Larsen, Meyer told a group of Republicans in Everett a few weeks ago. He encouraged party activists to make up their minds and get behind one of the candidates quickly, encouraging the other two to drop out.

"Two of us are going to have to get out of the way," he said. "If all three (Republican) candidates go all the way to the primary, you can buy tickets to Rick Larsen’s inauguration."

Barlean took the opposite view, taking heart in the fact that U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell survived a contentious primary against Democrat Deborah Senn and still went on to beat incumbent Republican Slade Gorton in the 2000 election.

Vance said a primary race wouldn’t be ideal, but it also wouldn’t be disastrous.

"If one of these three candidates is able to put together a much stronger campaign than the other two, the party would be better off for the other two to drop out," Vance said. "But it’s far too early for that decision."

The next benchmark for candidates will be the March 30 financial filings, he said.

Vance promised a "huge infusion of support" from the state and national parties for whichever Republican makes it through the primary.

More than half of Larsen’s war chest so far has come from political action committees, which don’t usually contribute to candidates when there is a contested primary, preferring to wait until the race is narrowed down.

"Let Rick Larsen gobble up his early PAC money. It’s expected," Vance said. "But the Republican Party has never been stronger across the country, and if this keeps up, Rick Larsen will be a one-term congressman."

Larsen had only a four-point lead over his Republican opponent in the 2000 election, despite a bad year for Republicans in general, Vance said.

In that race, Larsen raised $1.5 million vs. John Koster’s $1.1 million. Koster had a Republican challenger to worry about all the way until Barry Sehlin dropped out in April, which kept him from raising money in earnest until then.

Republicans have three very different candidates to choose from this year. Barlean, from Langley, is a lawyer in his second term as a state representative. He also served in the military and as a Langley city council member.

Smith, a Clinton resident, is a former aide to U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf, dealing with veterans, military and local government issues. She is currently the director of a group that helps American businesses expand overseas. She has been endorsed by her former boss, as well as by Koster, who is now a Snohomish County Council member.

And Meyer, who is from Friday Harbor, runs a company that designs business systems for corporations and owns a book-publishing company. He has written for The Wall Street Journal and was an editor at Fortune magazine. During the Reagan administration, he served as special assistant to the CIA director and was vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

"What a perfect time for someone of his background to be running for office," Vance said.

Meyer is capitalizing on his experience with wartime issues in his campaign.

"Rick Larsen is much more vulnerable than anybody thinks he is," he said at the January meeting. "He knows about as much about defending the country as I know about chorus girls, which is nothing.

"I think I can take him."

But Barlean also is emphasizing his military background, and he was endorsed last week by the National Defense Political Action Committee, a group that helps current and former military members run for office.

Barlean said he is at a disadvantage because he is in Olympia now and can’t campaign full time.

Whichever one of them makes it through the winnowing process will run against Larsen, the former chairman of the Snohomish County Council and public affairs director for the Washington State Dental Association.

Vance said he doesn’t expect redistricting to make much of a difference in the race. When lines were redrawn recently to reflect population shifts, the 2nd District was moved farther north, putting south Snohomish County voters into the 1st District. But it only made the 2nd District one-tenth of 1 percent more Republican.

"That’s barely a sliver," Neuman agreed.

You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 360-586-3803 or send e-mail to

ray@heraldnet.com.