Hurrah for Darcy! CQ upgrades WA-08

Wonderful news this morning:

Republican officials scoffed when Darcy Burner — a former executive with computer software giant Microsoft but a first-time candidate for public office — emerged as the Democratic challenger to freshman GOP Rep. Dave Reichert in Washington’s 8th District. The Republicans contended Burner was a weak choice to take on Reichert, who won a close 2004 race in the politically competitive suburban Seattle district on the strength of his long tenure as the elected sheriff of King County.

But Burner’s strong debut as a campaign fundraiser and her growing list of endorsements from key Democratic support groups have made it harder for her opposition to argue that she is a “B-list” recruit. Though Reichert appears to maintain at least a slight edge in the fall contest, CQPolitics.com has changed its rating on the race to its more competitive Leans Republican category from Republican Favored.

Reichert still enjoys a substantial fundraising lead in the race, with his most recent report to the Federal Election Commission showing he had raised $2 million and had $1.1 million cash on hand as of June 30. But Burner’s $1.1 million in receipts and $770,000 cash as of that date made her one of the best-funded House challengers this year.

When I first met Darcy Burner, I saw very clearly the potential of a formidable challenger to Dave Reichert. Darcy has proved she will be able to wage the kind of aggressive, grassroots driven campaign it will take to win this race. If Republicans aren't already worried about losing WA-08, they should be. We're going to take the district from them this November.

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