Article by Erik Smith. Published on Monday, February 13, 2012 EST.

$1.2 Million Comes From State Democratic Party, Congressional Fund – Republican Gubernatorial Candidate McKenna Barred From Raising Money During Session

Attorney General Rob McKenna and Congressman Jay Inslee.

By Krista Norsworthy

Staff writer/ Washington State Wire

OLYMPIA, Feb. 13.—Democrat Jay Inslee has pulled ahead in the fund-raising race in this year’s contest for governor, beating Republican Rob McKenna by some $51,000 — but you have to wonder how much celebrating they’re really doing at Inslee headquarters.

Team Inslee finally scored a full two months after the other guys walked off the field — McKenna is prohibited from raising money while the Legislature is in session. It is a tiny advantage in a contest where each candidate has raised nearly $4 million. And the only reason Inslee beat McKenna is that the state Democratic Party kicked in with $65,000 on the second-to-last day of the month. Otherwise he would have lost again.

            So far, nearly a third of Congressman Inslee’s money comes from the state party and from the bank account he amassed when he was contemplating a seventh consecutive term in Congress.

            Nevertheless, the Inslee campaign trumpeted the fact that it is now in the lead with a news release Monday, citing the latest campaign finance reports filed at the state Public Disclosure Commission.

            “As we enter into 2012, we’re proud to have the support of 17,890 people who share Jay’s commitment to creating good-paying jobs in Washington, rebuilding our middle class, and getting our economy back on track, Inslee campaign manager Joby Shimomura said in the statement. “We are thankful to have so many standing with us and are really pleased to kick off this year in a strong position.”

            Help From ‘Bank of Pelz’
 

            The McKenna campaign says the Democratic party was trying to spare Inslee the embarrassment of a second month in which their boy couldn’t beat McKenna even though the Republican has both hands tied behind his back.

The fund-raising reports for the month of January, due Friday evening at the campaign-watchdog agency, show that Congressman Inslee raised $473,252 during the month of January, for a total of $3.78 million.

            Meanwhile, McKenna, the state attorney general, is prohibited from raising money while the Legislature is in session because he is a state elected official. So his numbers haven’t budged since November. He’s at $3.74 million.

Inslee is free to raise money and McKenna isn’t because of a 1992 initiative that established the “session freeze” for lawmakers and statewide officeholders. It did not impose the same restriction on members of Congress.

            A close look at those numbers shows Inslee topped McKenna only because of the state party’s last-minute donation. The state party gave its $65,000 on Jan. 30, when Inslee was trailing.

            “At some point, you have to wonder if the state Democratic Party activists will ask Chairman [Dwight] Pelz to stop throwing good money after bad to keep propping up Congressman Inslee’s campaign,” said McKenna campaign manager Randy Pepple.

            So far the state Democratic Party has contributed $564,377.66 to the Inslee campaign. In a press release, the Rs call it the ‘Bank of Pelz.’ 

            Transfers Also a Major Factor

            Also a major factor in Inslee’s fund-raising are the transfers from his congressional campaign account – money piled up as long ago as 2008. The transfers so far total $605,489.98.

            Meanwhile, the McKenna campaign has received no money from the state Republican party, and it has transferred just $98,000 from McKenna’s pre-existing campaign account for attorney general.

            Why should anyone care? Fund-raising numbers are a way of measuring public enthusiasm for a candidate, said McKenna campaign spokesman Charles McCray. “We’re led to believe that the congressman is suffering from a lack of enthusiasm.”

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