The Federal Election Commission released their quarterly fundraising numbers on Sunday. Some of the results in the Congressional races are semi-surprising (e.g. Democrat Lisa Brown is raising a lot of money!), some are not so surprising (e.g. Republican Dino Rossi is raising a lot of money!), and some reveal patterns of meal spending that raise far more questions than they answer (e.g. why the fuck is Dino Rossi spending hundreds of dollars at a Red Robin in Colorado?).
Let’s take a little tour through the numbers!
The story in Washington’s 8th Congressional District hasn’t changed very much. Dino Rossi is outraising his nearest Democratic challenger, Kim Schrier, 2 to 1. This quarter Rossi hauled in $847,584. He’s scooped up nearly $3 million so far and boasts $1,834,659 cash on hand.
Rossi has had plenty of help from some pretty greasy special interests, though. Club for Growth, a PAC associated with the Koch brothers, contributed $25,367 this quarter. Paul Ryan’s PAC, Prosperity Action Inc., threw in $5,000. Rossi also enjoys $5,000 gifts from PACs who do the bidding of bankers, auto dealers, insurance agents, Boeing, realtors, John Deere, beer companies, and small businesses who want to get rid of Obamacare.
Rossi’s so flush he’s spending hundreds of dollars at a Red Robin in Greenwood Village, Colorado, a home-rule municipality located in the Greater Denver Metropolitan Area. This year he’s spent $627.61 entertaining guests at the suburban burger chain. Meals range from $17.85 at the low end and $84.41 at the high end. Rossi’s campaign did not respond to questions about who they’re trying to impress with gourmet burgers (and bottomless steak fries when you order the Cowboy Tavern Ranch Double or any comparable burger) in Colorado, but I will update this post if I hear back.
Schrier maintains her substantial fundraising lead over the other Democrats in the race, bringing in more than public health doctor Shannon Hader and attorney Jason Rittereiser combined. Schrier raised $463,116 this quarter while Rittereiser took in $250,849. Hader raised $102,251 and loaned herself another $120,000 this quarter, bringing her self-funding number up to $420,000, which is a number often associated with smoking weeeeeeeeeed—god I love writing about fundraising.
Hader has a lot of cash on hand—$547,744—but she’s not telling anyone what she wants to do with it. Her spokesperson declined to comment when asked if she plans to run any TV ads soon or drop a bunch on other voter communication strategies. As for all the money she’s loaning herself, her spokesperson said it “represents a commitment from her, that she’s committed to reaching out to voters” and adds that “she is confident that she will have the support needed to beat Dino Rossi.”
But to do that she’ll have to get through the primary first, and time is running out for her to spend it in a meaningful way. Plus, in past interviews with the Stranger, Hader has emphasized her belief in the power of the ground game.
When asked how Rittereiser will attempt to overcome his campaign’s own fundraising disadvantage, his spokesperson more or less pointed to that fucking poll again: “No amount of money can overcome the fact that when voters hear Jason Rittereiser’s message they overwhelmingly support our campaign,” the spokesperson said.
Schrier’s spokesperson says the team feels “confident going into the general election.”
Outside spending has also picked up in the race for the 8th. Women Vote!, a super PAC affiliated with EMILY’s List, spent $46,741 on direct mail for Schrier.
The House Majority PAC, which is associated with Nancy Pelosi, has dropped $93,019 total but $25,594.63 this quarter on online ads. I’m guessing some of that money went to this anti-Rossi ad. The ad is good because it targets olds and tells them why the tax bill is bad, but it sucks because the phat backing beat overwhelms the message and just makes think that Rossi is about to don some wrist weights and lead an aerobics class.
In eastern Washington, Democrat Lisa Brown actually raised more in net contributions than incumbent Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, if you discount the $183,492 that McMorris Rodgers transferred from her joint fundraising committee, The American Dream Project.
Whatever the case, Browns fundraising numbers indicate a pretty serious upwelling of support in Washington’s 5th Congressional District. McMorris Rodgers netted $1,049,157 this quarter while Brown banked $931,124. In a press release, Brown’s spokesperson claims that “more than 10,000 individual donors have contributed to the Lisa Brown for Congress campaign, including 6,290 individual donors in the second quarter alone.” Another fun fact: Krist Novoselic, who’s known for playing bass in Nirvana and for being an insufferable libertarian, contributed to Brown’s campaign. Nice job, Krist!
And in southwestern Washington, Carolyn Long, a Democrat running against Republican incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, also put up some pretty good numbers. She netted $325,752 to Herrera Beutler’s $448,311, though the Congresswoman maintains a pretty substantial total of $2.9 million.
