House

Yet another national congressional ranking site has acknowledged the competitive nature of Washington's 8th District race between Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) and challenger Darcy Burner (D-Carnation). This time it is the left-leaning Swing State Project, who just yesterday moved the race from its "Lean R" category to a "Tossup", one of twelve in the country in that category.

Read their analysis below, which cites Burner's fundraising advantage and Obama's relative strength in Washington.

After early reports showed a gaping hole in the 8th Congressional District television markets, new numbers show that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has reserved nearly a million dollars on Seattle television stations for this year's election.

According to the Washington Post, the DCCC will spend $949,000 on ads will support Darcy Burner (D-Carnation) in her second bid to unseat Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn). Given the size of the market, that means voters are likely to see the ads just over twice a week when they air.

The Washington Education Association, normally a firm backer of Democratic politicians, has broken with its normal trajectory and endorsed Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) in his re-election race against Carnation Democrat Darcy Burner, according to the TNT.

"Washington educators appreciate Rep. Reichert's support for public schools, students and education employees. He understands the need to invest in quality public education," WEA President Mary Lindquist said in a press release.

Dino Rossi is up in the polls, and Darcy Burner had a great fundraising quarter, making them two of this week's winners. Find out who else made the list of Winners & Losers. | CLICK HERE

Congressional candidate Darcy Burner (D-Carnation) posted second quarter campaign donations totaling $579,023.82 without considering a surge of goodwill submissions after the loss of her home to fire.

Burner's campaign reported $1,248,377.34 cash on hand to the Federal Elections Commission following the June 30th reporting deadline for second quarter donations.

Second quarter proceeds for the Republican incumbent in the 8th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn),
had yet to be published on the FEC website as of
Wednesday afternoon. Coming into the second quarter, which started April 1, Reichert reported a cash on hand war chest of $698,035.

Reichert defeated Burner in a close election for the 8th District seatin 2006.

When U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Seattle) took to the House floor last Wednesday, one of Politicker.com cartoonist Rob Tornoe's recent cartoons  served as a backdrop for his criticism of the Bush administration and what he claims were their true motivations for war with Iraq

Jim McDermott may have voted against the war in Iraq and have progressive views on the environment and healthcare, but he sure doesn't let these interfere with his investments.

Burner's house burned, Rossi's billboards revealed and Dicks' district disses. Here are the Winners & Losers for July 11, 2008. | CLICK HERE

Washington's Congressional delegation spoke out in favor of today's decision by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' decision to re-open the bidding process for the Air Force KC-767 tankers. Airbus had won the initial contract, which would have cost the state's economy a significant amount of money, but the process was discovered to be flawed by the Government Accountability Office.

Representatives Brian Baird (D-03), Doc Hastings (D-04) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (D-05) have yet to speak on the matter. Links to and excerpts from the rest of the state's elected officials statements are below.

Rep. Norm DicksThe Grays Harbor County Democrats met last week as usual, but when the meeting ended something stood out quite glaringly. The Aberdeen Daily World is reporting that the group decided not to endorse their sitting Democratic U.S. Representative, Belfair's Norm Dicks.

Dicks has consistently won elections by wide margins in his thirty-one year electoral career. Many Democrats at the meeting cited Dicks' support for funding the war in Iraq as a reason not to officially endorse him. Dicks voted for authorization of the war, but has since voiced the need to bring it to an end. Still, as with most Democrats, he votes to fund it.