Both candidates for governor have all the appearances of being adequately, if not richly, funded for this year's featured electoral show.
Through the end of December, PDC reports show Christine Gregoire had collected over $4.1 million, with approximately $3.1 million cash-on-hand.
Rossi, raising funds since only October, has already received over $1.7 million in contributions, retaining more than $1.3 million in available cash. Rossi outraised Gregoire by about $88,000 as the legislative fundraising freeze took effect for the incumbent on December 15th (and will extend until the last day of the legislative session).
The freeze won't effect Gregoire's overall numbers in the long-term given her aggressive fundraising to this point and ability to raise more after that period. It will, however, allow Rossi to close some of the cash-on-hand gap in the short-term as her campaign will temporarily operate on a negative cash flow while his can continue to run full steam ahead.
At this rate, both sides should have the resources they need to run solid campaigns. And no doubt there will be healthy expenditures by political parties and assorted independent organizations as well.
Inevitably that last factor will mean major donors on both sides will also be giving to the respective state parties as well as the Republican and Democratic Governors Associations. Think we'll see the same liberals who got so worked up about Republican donors sending money to the party to support Dan Satterberg last November likewise raise a stink when their own donors funnel money through the state Democrats or the DGA?
Probably not.
Posted by Eric Earling at January 14, 2008 07:24 AM | Email ThisI love the glee with which you cite the conventional wisdom? Do you believe everything they tell you in the papers?
Wait until it gets out that there will be $5 tolls to cross Lake Washington. Wait until the state projects a shortfall due to CG's profligate spending as an economic slowdown takes hold. Wait until it sinks in about CG's mishandling of felon releases and deaths resulting from her mismanagement of childcare regulation.
And her Lewis County flooding "leadership" exhibited is what you'd expect from the typical craven bureaucrat--she delayed action because the state refused to indemnify Lewis County for breaking the levees that was needed to drain flooded areas.Suffering continued.
I wouldn't want to be going into the election with the 2 or 3 point lead she has with these landmines waiting for her.
Add to that her personality that makes Hillary Clinton look charming.
Finally, add in that the GOP may not have the drag of a presidential candidate as unpopular as Bush in this state. Some polls show McCain or Giuliani winning here.
I'm not saying she's a goner because the state is so Democratic. But to simply recite conventional wisdom as you have is simply thoughtless political analysis.
Or maybe you're just a troll.
Posted by: besquared on January 14, 2008 09:12 AMThe ferry system is falling apart.
The transportation situation, ie traffic, is not getting better (and won't without radical change that most of us don't want to go much past imagining).
The weather service for passes has a year of emergency funding left and they are doing a two year study on how to fund it (rofl, two years. wtf?!)
The list goes on.
We spend all of our money on studies instead of actually treating these services like businesses.
It's time to change that. My hope is that a Rossi can do so, but I guess we'll see what happens.
Posted by: Andrew Brown on January 14, 2008 09:26 AMYou probably believe everything your Evergreen State professors tell you.
Posted by: besqaued on January 14, 2008 09:46 AMFunny HillBill, because I work with a bunch of Seattle liberals, and most of them aren't going to vote for her. In fact, I don't know anyone, left or right, who really wants to vote for her.
Crowing that your social circle is proof Rossi is going to lose is a little short sighted and insular. Get out of your little bubble much?
Posted by: Mike H on January 14, 2008 10:10 AMAnd not a single person here believes you when you say a large group of Republicans think Gregoire has shown real leadership. Our experience with Republicans -- which is much broader than yours, surely -- shows that's extremely unlikely.
But whatever, believe what you want. In 2004, all the Democrats told us Rossi had no chance, too. And because many Republicans and independents believed that, the turnout wasn't as good as it could have been, and Rossi lost by a slim margin. It won't happen again.
Posted by: pudge on January 14, 2008 10:17 AMDino! Get out there and make some waves!
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on January 14, 2008 12:10 PM