Thursday, Jul. 31, 2008

UPDATE: June/July fundraising standouts

Having combed through C-4 reports filed with the Public Disclosure Commission this week outlining campaign fundraising activity it’s hard to find a positive spin for Republicans.

The filing period covered June 1 through July 28, a time when activity really picked up. But that was much more true for Democrats. I count 16 Democratic candidates (18 if I round up) who raised at least $40,000 during the period. Republicans had only four such candidates.

The list of the top ten fundraisers I’ve posted below includes only one Republican.

What’s more, there were a number of Republican incumbents who failed to raise even $20,000 during the period. They may be raising enough to get themselves re-elected in their safe districts but perhaps not enough to surplus loads of cash to the caucus campaign committees to help vulnerable incumbents or challengers in competitive races.

I’ll file a separate post to breakdown fundraising for statewide races. And I’ll add to the bottom of this list should there be any late filers who would have made the cut.

— Rep. Geoff Simpson, D-Covington, raised $50,000 to run his campaign total to near $114,000. He had a balance of $23,000 as of Monday night.

— Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, also raised $50,000 to run his campaign total to near $93,000.

— Rep. Liz Loomis, D-Snohomish, raised $52,000 during the filing period. She’s now raised over $120,000 for her campaign and has a balance of almost $72,000.

— Seattle Democrat John Burbank raised $54,000 in his bid for an open seat, bringing his campaign total to $115,000. He had a balance of $45,000. His primary rival, Democrat Reuven Carlyle, raised $42,000 to bring his total to over $160,000 with a balance of $53,000.

— Sen. Phil Rockefeller, D-Bainbridge Island, also raised $54,000. He’s now raised $115,000 for his campaign and had a balance of $86,000 as of Monday night.

— Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam raised $57,000 to bring her campaign total to more than $112,000. More importantly, she has over $103,00 in the bank.

— Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, raised over $59,000 for his campaign during the filing period to bring his total to over $100,000. He was carrying a balance of less than $7,000 as of Monday night.

— Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, is the only Republican to make this list. He raised almost $60,000 to bring his campaign total to over $134,000. He has over $110,000 in the bank.

— Rep. Bill Grant, D-Walla Walla filed early and raised almost $63,000 to bring his campaign total to over $124,000 through July 22nd. And he had a balance of $119,000.

— The filing period’s top fundraiser was Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, who raised over $82,000 to bring her total to over $143,000. She was carrying a balance of more than $86,000.

UPDATE: Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, would have made this list. His report appeared on the PDC website this morning (Friday) showing that he raised almost $55,000 during the filing period to bring his campaign total to almost $156,000. More importantly, he's spent less than $4,000 on his campaign so far.

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