Republicans are crying foul over a trio of independently funded campaign mailers that have hit mailboxes in the 35th District painting Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, as having decidedly liberal positions on federal health care and immigration reform.
The Senate Republican Campaign Committee has denounced the mailers as factually inaccurate, and called on the Public Disclosure Commission to investigate the group behind them, a national organization with Democrat ties called American Values First.
The president of American Values First, Michael Sargeant, is also executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
Republicans are alleging the group is in violation of state election laws because it hasn’t registered as a political committee with the PDC, or reported income, top donors, and done other required filings. They have a press conference scheduled Tuesday morning to draw more attention to the issue.
In a statement, American Values First responded by saying that it’s done the necessary filings and simply is supporting Sheldon based on his positions – but Republicans aren’t buying that.
Portraying Sheldon as having liberal positions on those key issues could be politically effective because he was one of two Democrats to join 24 Republicans in forming the Majority Coalition Caucus two years ago. He’s running as a Democrat against another Democrat, Irene Bowling, in a swing district that covers parts of Mason, Kitsap and Thurston counties.
Brent Ludeman, executive director of Senate Republican Campaign Committee, said in the news release that the mailers and a series of automated phone calls in the district are targeting conservative, Republican voters to persuade them against voting for Sheldon, which could undercut his support at the polls and boost Bowling.
It’s the latest round of complaints over mailers in the 35th District race, one of the state’s most hotly contested and crucial in determining control of the state Senate. Bowling was featured in mailers earlier this month saying she supported an increase of $1 in the price of a gallon of gasoline, drawing a connection from her statements supporting setting a price on carbon to support for a low-carbon fuels standard, according to a news article in the Olympian.
Republicans and oil industry interests contend such a standard would lead to higher gasoline costs in Washington, using a study predicting a $1 per gallon hike in gas costs in California, which has instituted a standard, and conclusions from a state-hired consultant. But what would result in Washington has been in dispute. Gov. Jay Inslee’s office and the consultant have said connecting the price of carbon the consultant estimated to that drastic of an increase in fuel costs relies on faulty math.
The American Values First mailers appear to be supporting Sheldon, saying Sheldon “fought hard to ensure Washington State receives all the benefits from the historic legislation,” for implementing federal health care reform, while working to expand the program, lock in state dollars for Planned Parenthood, and that he wants a “pathway to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants.
For the latter claim, the mailer cites as evidence Sheldon’s vote to approve the Real Hope Act earlier this year, which was a measure with bipartisan support in the Senate to provide $5 million in funding for children of undocumented immigrants to compete with other college students for financial aid.
The measure passed both chambers with broad support from Republicans and Democrats, but it makes no mention of pathways to citizenship, an element of federal immigration reform efforts that the state Legislature has no authority on.
On health care, the mailers cite as evidence Sheldon’s vote on the 2013 budget, which finally passed in late June after two special sessions. But the Senate Republican Campaign Committee said that’s unfairly taking one element of an omnibus spending bill and using it against Sheldon, who had earlier voted against implementing federal health care reform in Washington.
“This is a dishonest and deceptive attempt to suppress Senator Sheldon’s support with Republican voters,” said Sen. Bruce Dammeier, the chairman of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, in a statement.
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