From Wikipedia:
Washington's 8th congressional district includes the eastern portions of King and Pierce counties and crosses the Cascade mountains to include Chelan and Kittitas counties. The population centers on the west side of the mountains include the exurban communities of Sammamish, Issaquah, and Auburn. On the east side, the 8th's population centers are rural communities Wenatchee, Leavenworth, and Ellensburg.[3] It is currently represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Republican Dave Reichert.
So far the Republicans have out raised the Democratic candidates and have set up an office for Dino Rossi and he has deep pockets. He has around $2.1 million. However, as of last month the Democrats are trimming the lead.
komonews.com/…
From Komo news article, Democratic candidates are listed here along with their fundraising amounts in April. These appear to be the top fundraisers.
“Dr. Kim Schrier led the Democratic field with about $484,000 raised last quarter, according to a statement. That's a 51 percent increase from the previous period, taking her total to $1.1 million.
Lawyer Jason Rittereiser, saw his quarterly contributions climb 48 percent to about $222,000. That brings his total to $594,000. Neither Democrat has experience running for public office
Dr. Shannon Hader secured about $143,000 in the quarter for a total of $300,000 in contributions. The Democrat's campaign also received an additional $300,000 from a loan from Hader, giving her a total of about $600,000.
The fundraising reports may signal the beginning of consolidation among a group of eight Democratic challengers to Rossi. The House seat, which has been firmly held by Republicans since its inception in 1980, turned more competitive after Rep. Dave Reichert announced his retirement last year. Reichert is one of about 40 Republican House members who have announced their retirement or move to run for another public office ahead of this year's midterm elections.
Analysts including the Cook Political Report, classify the 8th District contest as a toss-up.
"Think of the 8th in the context of a national chess board where the Republicans are playing defense," said Todd Donovan, who teaches political science at Western Washington University. But "the fact that Rossi doesn't have to spend much before the primary makes his lead that much more commanding. The Democrats, on the other hand, can't afford to not spend everything if not most of what they raised before the primary, just to make sure they get through."
Washington holds its primaries in August, where the top two finishers regardless of political affiliation go on to compete in the general election in November.
The 8th District is made up of some of Seattle's wealthiest suburbs to the east, parts of working-class districts to its south and farming counties across the Cascade Mountains. Last month, a super PAC backed by the Republican House leadership opened an office there to support Rossi, one of more than two dozen locations across the country where Democrats are posing serious challenges.”
So it seems to me that we need more visibility on this key district. Here are the Democratic Candidates details in the same order as the article:
1. Kim Schrier, Dr. www.drkimschrier.com ballotpedia.org/...
2. Jason Rittereiser, Lawyer www.jasonrittereiser.com ballotpedia.org/...
3. Shannon Hader, Dr. ballotpedia.org/...
For the complete list of candidates go here:ballotpedia.org/...
The clock is ticking and we Washingtonians need to back strong candidates and break the long term hold the Repressive Party has held since 1983! The Republicans sense that they are at risk of loosing this.
I like both Kim Schrier and Jason Ritterteiser: Jason has held many town halls and has worked as a prosecuting attorney. Kim is raising the most cash.