Suzan DelBene's campaign announced yesterday that she pumped an additional $1.35 million of her own money into her 8th CD race during the first two weeks of October, bringing her total contributions and loans to $2.3 million. Say what you want about the merits of self-funding, the real news here is that DelBene obviously believes she's got a reasonable shot at knocking off Republican Rep. Dave Reichert.

While our media obsesses over the alleged closeness of our allegedly teeter-tottering Senate race (there's a strong argument to be made that the Murray/Rossi contest is actually one of the most stable in the nation), the sudden tightening of the 8th CD race has nearly escaped notice. But apparently not by DelBene, who seems intent on assuring that her campaign is sufficiently funded to fight this race right up until election day.

In her favor, polls show that DelBene has a tremendous opportunity to pick up votes amongst women and pro-choice voters, and that seems to be the focus of her recent ads. DelBene also benefits from the absence of the sorta hostile press that Darcy Burner faced during her two runs at Reichert. It sure does make it easier for DelBene to be able to cite the Seattle Times in her closing ads, rather than having to fend them off.

As for the self-funding issue, well, I'd personally prefer that Congress not be filled entirely with millionaires... but then, I'd prefer it not be filled with idiots either. So I guess you can't have everything.