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Monday, June 11, 2012

2012 Inslee Lags Far Behind McKenna in May Fundraising Totals

Posted by Eli Sanders on Mon, Jun 11, 2012 at 3:53 PM

Feeling confident he'd had a great fundraising month in May, Republican Rob McKenna last week released his total haul: $1.2 million.

Jay Inslee waited until the reporting deadline, and a short time ago went public with his May number: $617,179.

Confusingly, Inslee campaign manager Joby Shimomura is declaring: “May was a fantastic month for us."

I guess there's Inslee's continued (but small) cash-on-hand advantage to consider, and the union PAC money coming his way, and the transfers he'll be getting from the state Democratic party. But in terms of direct individual contributions to Inslee's campaign, this doesn't seem like a "fantastic" month.

Inslee spokesperson Jaime Smith counters: "We aren’t surprised by McKenna’s month. Nor are we worried. Money is only one measure of a campaign’s momentum (though by that measure we still lead in number of individual contributors and in cash raised, despite McKenna’s numbers). We had 500 people here for our office opening. We’ve already launched our field program and now have people on the ground around the state. And polling shows the race is a close one. These are all positive signs. We’re on the right track."

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And our current Democratic Auditor has endorsed McKenna. Nice momentum there

Posted by Reader01 on June 11, 2012 at 3:58 PM

@1 You mean the "Democrat" who's in bed with Tim Eyman and BIAW? Yeah, he's really committed to fixing the state's budget problems by cutting rich people's taxes, killing unions, and dismantling the pathetic remains of the safety net for us losers--just like the guy he's endorsing!

Posted by maddogm13 on June 11, 2012 at 4:04 PM

Will Inslee's own mother endorse him?

"safety net for us losers"

You said it.

Posted by Sugartit on June 11, 2012 at 4:13 PM

Is Inslee still running? I hear a ton about why not to vote for McKenna, but haven't heard a peep out of the other guy. Be nice if there was actually someone to vote FOR out there.

Posted by clint on June 11, 2012 at 4:16 PM

"We're on the right track"? Seriously?

Here's the track Inslee is on:

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Compon…

If I were Martin O'Malley (chair of the Democrat Governors Association), I'd be booking a flight to personally pick Inslee up by the shirt collar and shake the apathy out of him.

Posted by Madeleine Elster on June 11, 2012 at 4:44 PM

But won't Inslee create dozens of gub'ment Green jobs, having us squirting foam into walls for $10/hr.

Posted by Sugartit on June 11, 2012 at 4:54 PM

@4 I wonder the same thing. For a guy who's running for governor (I think?), he doesn't seem able to get his name out there.

Posted by Mattini on June 11, 2012 at 5:11 PM

@7- It's not like the media is doing anything like showing up at his campaign events. He has events and The Stranger sends a reporter, but no TV and no Seattle Times. But McKenna throws a party and everyone is there (except The Stranger, because they're not allowed at a McKenna event.)

Posted by dwightmoodyforgetsthings

on June 11, 2012 at 5:56 PM

@8 it's cuz his boring. Every interview I've heard, I think "wow, way to be wonky dude". Media is less biased towards a party and more so what gets people's attention.

Posted by CbytheSea on June 11, 2012 at 6:04 PM

we have local media?

Posted by JonnoN on June 11, 2012 at 6:47 PM

@InsleeCampain

You are losing so bad, even the Slog can't find anything nice to say about the candidate.

Are you listening? Are you awake?
Are you even trying?

Posted by NotSean on June 11, 2012 at 7:41 PM

@11 Spell much?

Posted by NotSean on June 11, 2012 at 10:57 PM

If media don't show up, it's because they're not interested and they don't think you're news.

The only people who have the least enthusiasm about Inslee are the unions, and they probably aren't enthusiastic. They've run the wrong guy. Why they didn't try to recruit Dow or ANYONE else is beyond me.

Posted by sarah70 on June 11, 2012 at 11:17 PM

With a right-wing Obama shredding the Constitution and governing well to the right of Nixon, Reagan, and Goldwater, you might say that there's little to entice the lefties to get excited by the electoral process. The national Dems sitting out the recent recall election in Wisconsin showed that they really don't care.

Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber

on June 12, 2012 at 4:10 AM

I still couldn't pick Inslee in a line up if I had to. Hell, the Stranger puts up more pictures of McKenna than they have on Inslee and they give McKenna a lot more coverage.

What does Inslee stand for? What has he done? What does he want to do? Who knows?

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on June 12, 2012 at 7:23 AM

oh, if you want to know what he wants to do, just rely on his campaign's crackerjack social media team!

you see, whenever there's negative talk about inslee, esp. on a urban, progressive type blog site? they roll into action, posting ten or twenty comments right away that carry the campaign's core message. This in turn reinforces his overall message esp. among the base segments that are his that he's so great at firing up, the urban enviro loving types of people, the folks who voted for mcginn the first time. This balances out the tea bagger support for mckenna.

Woo hoo, 500 people in an office for free food and drink, that's sure a lot better than money -- to know why just look at Wisconsin. Our ground game beats their air game! It's just like using ww1 techniques of infantry on the ground, to oppose the luftwaffe! Brilliant! And also more green, all that walking around neighborhoods, knocking on doors for the 80% of people who aren't home/don't answer the door to solicitors/certainly become persuaded by some youngster on the doorstep's pitch after hearing TV commercials for mckenna for a few months previous.

Posted by ground game wins! on June 12, 2012 at 8:22 AM