Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Monday, April 13, 2009

DelBene raises nearly a third of a million dollars in first quarter for WA-08 campaign

Suzan DelBene's effort to knock out Dave Reichert in Washington's eighth congressional district next year is off to a strong start.

The campaign released first quarter fundraising results a few minutes ago, and the numbers are fairly impressive. DelBene has only been in the race officially for six weeks, and already she has raised a grand total of $314,723.86.

Granted, $200,000 of that is her own money. But raising over a hundred grand from other donors in just a few weeks is no small feat.

The question is, can DelBene keep it going?

If she can, she'll be in great shape financially, and she'll have an easier time scaring potential Democratic competition out of the race.

Of the three hundred thousand plus she raised, DelBene managed to keep more than ninety percent in the bank, spending only a small fraction of the money. She had $293,923.75 in cash on hand as of the end of last month.

Her campaign says her cash on hand and total raised figures are right up there with the nation's other top congressional challengers.

DelBene's contributions for the first quarter of 2009 easily eclipse what Dave Reichert and Darcy Burner pulled in at the beginning of the 2008 cycle ($184,722, and $17,368 in the first quarter, 2007, respectively).

Again, we're counting DelBene's $200,000 in seed money - which is a big percentage of the total raised - but the candidate makes a fair point about that: "I felt it was important that I show my own commitment to putting together a winning campaign before I asked others to support me."

DelBene has already assembled an experienced campaign team and has begun traveling the district to talk with voters who are looking for more effective representation in Congress. Reichert, she argues (who is now serving his third term) has no major accomplishments as a legislator and doesn't seem interested in putting in the hard work it takes to move good ideas through Congress.

We agree, but convincing voters to fire Dave Reichert will be tough. Darcy Burner has already tried twice and come up short. Determination counts for a lot, though, and Suzan clearly has that. Her first quarter fundraising proves it.

Comments:

Blogger Greg said...

So is Darcy running again, not running, not decided? I heard that she just took a new job as director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, but then Goldy said that was incorrect and that she had taken a job at a new not-for-profit policy foundation. DarcyBurner.com just redirects to her ActBlue page now. I gave some money to DelBene -- no reason I can't give to both Darcy and DelBene -- but knowing Darcy's status would definitely affect how much I contribute. Do you know anything, or at least anything you can talk about publicly?

By the way, there was an article about DelBene in the Bellevue Reporter, although it's a somewhat negative article in keeping with the conservative leaning of that newspaper.
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/bel/news/42693152.html

April 13, 2009 2:01 PM  
Blogger Andrew said...

Hi Greg!

Darcy is not running for Congress again. She has, in her words, "no intention" of doing so. She has indeed accepted a job at a new nonprofit. I expect you'll be hearing more about what she's up to very soon.

Darcy has told me she hopes to have the opportunity to vote for Suzan DelBene in November 2010.

April 13, 2009 4:57 PM  
Blogger WSPC Member said...

Yeah, I wonder how the WEA feels now about supporting Reichert. I hope Delbene's team is much more savvy and quick than was Burner's team. This shows a more serious problem though, big campaign money is needed.

April 14, 2009 11:44 AM  

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