Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi recently received his 30,746th contributor. Normally, word of such an uncommon number would not be newsworthy, but in this case the Rossi campaign is making a big deal of it.

The reason is that four years ago the campaign only had 30,745 contributors. When Rhonda Ray Wells of Auburn gave Rossi $50, she broke that record a full six months before the general election. Dino Rossi visited Wells' home to celebrate the milestone, and presented her with a signed copy of his book, Lessons in Leadership, Business, Politics and Life.