WASHINGTON – Democrat Darcy Burner raised more campaign money than incumbent U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in the first quarter of the year, surprising national Democrats and Republicans alike and serving notice that Washington’s 8th Congressional District race may be more competitive than experts predicted.
Burner, a former Microsoft Corp. executive and political newcomer, raised $334,000 in the first three months of the year, compared with $268,000 for Reichert, a freshman Republican from Auburn, new campaign finance reports show.
| In the state’s 2nd District, incumbent Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., continued to raise more money than his Republican opponent, Everett businessman Doug Roulstone. Larsen had raised nearly $872,000 by March 31, with $820,000 cash on hand. Roulstone had raised about $362,000, with nearly $283,000 on hand, new campaign finance reports show. Roulstone’s report was completed before a fundraising visit by Vice President Dick Cheney earlier this week. Associated Press |
Reichert still has the overall advantage, with more than $720,000 in the bank, while Burner had about $355,000 in cash, the reports show.
Overall, Burner has raised nearly $540,000 compared with $1.44 million raised by Reichert, who was elected to represent the Eastside in 2004.
Burner’s campaign manager, Zach Silk, said the results show that Burner is a credible challenger, despite the fact she has never held political office and was not recruited by state or national Democrats to run against Reichert.
“We’re still down, but I think the most important thing is we’ve narrowed the cash on hand,” from a 5-to-1 advantage for Reichert in January to 2-to-1 now, Silk said.
A Reichert spokeswoman declined to comment on Burner’s campaign totals.
“We honestly are not focused on the opponent’s fundraising,” said Carol Beaudu, a spokeswoman for Reichert’s campaign.
“We’ve had this campaign up and running since early 2005, we’ve got a strong fundraising base, a strong grass-roots effort and we are focused on Dave’s re-election,” Beaudu said.
A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps GOP House candidates, dismissed Burner’s early fundraising success.
“There’s plenty of low-hanging fruit in Seattle that any liberal activist can pick if they are running a congressional campaign,” Jonathan Collegio said. “Reichert still has a 2-to-1 (cash) advantage, and I would seriously doubt that Burner would continue to raise money at that clip. There’s a long way to go.”
The 8th District, which includes Bellevue, Mercer Island and other suburbs east of Lake Washington, has never sent a Democrat to Congress, but it backed Democratic Sen. Patty Murray in 2004.
Reichert, a former King County sheriff, won his seat with 52 percent of the vote, making him a prime target of Democrats.
The party initially attempted to recruit an experienced candidate, but settled on Burner after other potential challengers declined to run. Burner has been campaigning since 2005, and became the only Democrat in the race when attorney Randy Gordon dropped out in January.
Burner, who grew up in Nebraska and lives near Carnation, has been endorsed by former Gov. Gary Locke and is supported by the state’s Democratic delegation.
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