As 2008 Begins, Most House Incumbents in Good Places

Olympia, WA -

With all of the Q4 fund raising numbers tallied, eight of Washington's nine Congressmen stand in good financial shape relative to their challengers. Only Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) looks vulnerable in the 8th District race that has been pegged as a heated battle ever since the 2006 election that saw incumbent Reichert narrowly defeat his opponent, Darcy Burner (D-Carnation), who is challenging him once again.

To close out the year Burner raised a Q4 amount of $339,494, giving her a total of $607,143 cash on hand. This puts her on better financial footing than Reichert who, although having raised more than his challenger in 2007, brought in a mere $241,912 in the 4th quarter to give him a total of $462,828 to start the year.

Beyond the Reichert-Burner race, Rick Larsen (D-Arlington) faces mostly nominal opposition from his 2006 challenger, Douglas Roulstone (R-Snohomish), whose $32,575 cash on hand is less than ten percent of Larsen's $474,246. Larsen raised $280,673 in the 4th quarter.

In seven of the races, no challenger will start the year with more than a few thousand dollars cash on hand. Brian Baird (D-Vancouver) leads all of his Democratic colleague with $1,050,449 in the war chest, followed by Jay Inslee (D-Bainbridge) with $851,027, Jim McDermott (D-Seattle) with $612,287, Norm Dicks (D-Bremerton) with $530,640, and Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) with $415,842.

The two other GOP incumbents, hailing from the rural Eastern Washington Districts, have raised considerably less than their Western Washington counterparts, but remain relatively uncontested. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Deer Park) has $281,389 cash on hand to start the year, and Doc Hastings (R-Pasco) has $253,381.

Federal fundraising information can be found at the FEC website.