fundraising

The Public Disclosure Commission held a press conference in Olympia today to release the latest edition of their already award-winning website.  The new site, found here, is meant to be simpler to use with more graphics, clickable variables and up-to-date figures.

In other words, PolitickerWA.com's nights just got a whole lot more exciting. Give it a shot and see for yourself.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi's campaign announced today that Rossi, as of Friday, has surpassed the total amount of money he raised in his 2004 run for governor. Last time around Rossi brought in $6,254 million, and as of Sunday they have $6.28 million. Three and a half months remain in the race.

"It's only July and we have already raised more money than we did the entire 2004 campaign. What's even more impressive is that we have raised this much after only nine months of campaigning," said Rossi spokesperson Jill Strait. "Everywhere we go throughout our state we meet people who are ready for change in Olympia and want a leader who will start fixing some problems. Thank you to everyone who has joined our effort, bringing us one step closer towards victory this November."

Losing a home to fire takes a toll on nearly every aspect of one's life. When a high profile campaign for the U.S. House is part of that life, the price gets distributed on to thousands more people, whether they are active campaign volunteers, or merely constituents who passively miss out on normal campaigning. Such was the case last week when 8th District Democrat Darcy Burner lost her home to fire.

Fortunately for Burner many of her constituents, along with well-wishers across the country, have banded together to help ease the campaign burdens she will undoubtedly face in the coming weeks as she and her family move forward with their post-fire lives. The campaigns financial burdens, at least.

Spurred on by calls from bloggers across the country, Burner has raised over $110,000 from more than 2,000 contributors on the fundraising site ActBlue since last Tuesday's fire.

He bought a share of the minor league Everett AquaSox in order to gain access to season ticket holders' personal information and use it for campaign fundraising. Now he's looking to expand.

State Sen. Dino Rossi: Campaign photoDino Rossi's campaign recently sent out letters to the Seattle Mariners single A affiliate Everett AquaSox's team mailing list inviting them to join the campaign's Snohomish County finance committee for a $100 per person fundraiser at a July 7 AquaSox game, the Seattle Times' David Postman is reporting.

The fundraising letter, however, did not go over well with Sox fans. Many of them complained to the ownership group, in which Rossi himself has a minority stake, prompting the team's majority owners, Peter A. and Peter E. Carfagna, to apologize for what they called a compromise of privacy.

UPDATE:

The Washington State Democratic Party is claiming that Rossi knew about plans to use his AquaSox connections for political gain.

U.S. Rep. Dave ReichertU.S. News and World Reports confirmed last Friday that former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the failed 2008 Republican presidential candidate, will be hosting a fundraiser for Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) in New York. Reichert was an early supporter of Giuliani.

Details have not yet been released, and there is still no word yet on Rudy's asking price for the event, though rumors suggest Hizzoner will be collecting the cash free of charge. A call to Giuliani's office has not yet been returned.

George Fearing, 4th District candidate for congress, with his son George: Politicker PhotoWith the end of June rapidly approaching, and with it the time limit for reporting monthly (for state offices) and second quarterly (for congressional races) fundraising figures, candidates across the state have appealed to their supporters for a last-minute surge in contributions to beef up their prospects for the coming home stretch.

On Wednesday night Governor Chris Gregoire sent out an e-mail to supporters asking for $50,000 by month's end. Her letter doubles to show up her new radio ad, and with it the campaign theme that Democrats are being attacked on two fronts, both by the Republican Party and their "special interest lobbyist" backers.

Two congressional candidates, Darcy Burner (D-Carnation) and George Fearing (D-Richland) , also got into the act.

The campaign to re-elect Rob McKenna (R-Bellevue) for Attorney General announced Monday that they had passed the $1,000,000 mark for fundraising over the weekend. McKenna, who was a King County Councilman prior to serving as the Attorney General, has raised more money this cycle than any other statewide candidate short of gubernatorial candidates Dino Rossi and Gov. Chris Gregoire. He has also brought in $100,000 in the first half of June, and had more than $400,000 on hand at the end of May.

"These numbers indicate the breadth and depth of my support around the state," McKenna said in a press release. "I am grateful that so many Washington voters support what I am doing and want to see me return to office.  It shows that I am focused on the right things: Fighting crime and protecting families."

Although Governor Chris Gregoire led the May fundraising battle between her and opponent Dino Rossi, $785,000 to $701,000 and the overall matchup $6.8 million to $5.15 million, the Rossi campaign is claiming that it has raised more money, both in May and throughout the campaign, from in-state individuals and businesses.

The Seattle Times' David Postman first reported this morning that Gregoire received $200,000 of her $785,000 in May from the state Democratic Party. Postman also notes that Gregoire has received $511,000 of the $2 million she has raised since officially beginning her campaign two months ago has come from the state party.

May is the second in a monthly PolitickerWA.com series of the financial status of some of the state's top races.

Here is how things stand as of May 31, 2008. The first number listed is contributions, the second number is expenditures and the third number is the difference between the two. Precluding any unusual circumstances, that third number is equal to cash on hand. The candidate with the most cash on hand is listed at the top of each section.

All numbers below are in the thousands of dollars, unless otherwise noted. See April's figures here.