In the tight primary race between four Democrats in Washington's newly redrawn 1st district things have taken a turn for the unusual. A Super PAC named Progress for Washington began airing attack ads against Suzan DelBene featuring a graphic where DelBene's face morphs into Mitt Romney's. I haven't seen the ad but it sounds pretty nasty for polite Washington.
Ruderman's mother funds group's ads attacking DelBene
Margaret Rothschild said she paid for the PAC's attack ads because she was "very frustrated" that her daughter's millionaire opponent could self-fund her campaign while her daughter could not.
By Jonathan Martin
A political-action group formed to attack the business record of 1st Congressional District candidate Suzan DelBene was funded entirely by the mother of one of DelBene's opponents, Laura Ruderman, according to Federal Election Commission filings released Sunday.
On Sunday, Ruderman campaign manager Liz Berry said Ruderman learned of her mother's involvement from a reporter, and was "just shocked" that Rothschild has funded the ads.
"She had no idea it was her mother," Berry said. Rothschild is a counselor who "knows how to keep secrets," Berry said.
Laura Ruderman and her campaign claim not to have known. If true this has to be one of the odder surprises a candidate has gotten fro a family member. Ruderman mother is married to George Heidorn, who was a senior researcher at Microsoft.
DelBene has donated $1 million to her campaign since March, more than Ruderman and Darcy Burner, another leading Democrat, have raised, combined, from their thousands of donors, according to the FEC filings. DelBene's campaign plans a late-July TV ad blitz, with nearly $730,000 in airtime purchased, the filings show.
Washington's 5 way 1st District race is a tight one for the 4 Democrats. I should disclose
Progress for Washington has pulled its broadcast ads, is is going forward with mailings attacking and DelBene and Darcy Burner.
“MamaPAC” off the air, mail offensive continues
The latest MamaPAC mailing calls DelBene “DelRomney.” It describes Ruderman, a former state representative, as a “proven leader.” And it takes out after Darcy Burner.
Charlie Mahtesian at Politico writes.
Mom's shadowy super PAC
Progress for Washington isn’t the only example of a family-funded super PAC this cycle, but the flap over who was actually behind it marks it as the one that’s backfired the most.
The 1st District's 5 way primary races is a tight one for the 4 Democrats waile the lone Republican gets a stroll. I should disclose that I was diarist for one of Darcy's Quilt diaries.