In this blog from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Darcy is attacked because her campaign has released its donor figure: she raised 178,000 from 8,100, of which 3,100 are, according to Kenneth Quinnell, her communications director, are from within Washington State, whose 1st Congressional district is seeing a 5-way primary for the Democratic nomination. The blog post goes on to offer comparisons with her four opponents:
Other Democrats have been more at-home. Ex-state finance director Suzan DelBene has been boosted by unions and Gov. Chris Gregoire. State Sen. Steve Hobbs has drawn donations from Olympia lobbyists. Ex-State Rep. Laura Ruderman is a professional fundraiser by trade.
But note what that paragraph does not offer - none of the other campaigns have released their number of donors or the ratio of in-state to out-of-state.
It also fails to tell you that DelBene, wealthy from her Microsoft days, is largely self-financing.
It fails to tell you that while DelBene has the endorsement of the SEIU, many unions have stayed neutral and Burner has been endorsed by half a dozen unions.
It doesn't tell you that when MoveOn.org polled its members in the district to see it it should endorse in the primary, that DelBene's campaign put out a mass email soliciting support, yet when all was said and done, Darcy Burner got 51% of the votes cast by MoveOn.org members in the district, and thus got endorsed. That's 51% in a 5-way contest.
Washington State has a top-two primary system. There is only 1 Republican, so he will make the general election run-off. Darcy has to finish first among the Dems. So far what polling there is gives her a substantial lead over all of her primary opponents.
You might consider contacting the Seattle P-I and ask them to demand the other campaigns release their ratios and their number of contributors. Even if a majority of Darcy's contributors are from out of state, does any of the other candidates have as many in-state contributors.
And whether you live in Washington State or not, you can still help Darcy by contributing. And if you go to her homepage you will see an endorsement from what should be a familiar face.
In her fundraising appeals, Darcy typically asks for $14. Surely most of us here can afford to offer that, and if you can afford more, we have a chance to elect a real progressive leader to the House.
The primary is August 7.
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