Doug Sutherland

SPOKANE -

Washington's slate of statewide candidates gave speeches this afternoon after becoming the official nominees of the party.

Peter Goldmark, Jason Osgood, and John Ladenburg all spoke on behalf of their candidacy with a few digs at their opponents. Recaps below the fold. 

May is the second in a monthly PolitickerWA.com series of the financial status of some of the state's top races.

Here is how things stand as of May 31, 2008. The first number listed is contributions, the second number is expenditures and the third number is the difference between the two. Precluding any unusual circumstances, that third number is equal to cash on hand. The candidate with the most cash on hand is listed at the top of each section.

All numbers below are in the thousands of dollars, unless otherwise noted. See April's figures here.

Washington's State Commissioner of Public Lands, Republican Doug Sutherland, formally began his campaign on Tuesday with events in Bellevue and Spokane sandwiched around the time he spent with John McCain. Now that he is fully on board, he is already touting his bipartisan support.

Sutherland sent out a press release highlighting the endorsements of Republican and Democratic leaders from across the state in the legislature and beyond. 

NORTH BEND -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain participated in a roundtable discussion on environmental issues today at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center in Eastern King County. McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, was joined by a wide slate of interested parties, ranging from Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland to REI CEO Sally Jewel, former Gov. Dan Evans and Mercer Island City Councilman Steve Litzow along with a handful of local business and non-profit group leaders.

Local Republicans in attendance at the event included Attorney General Rob McKenna, who is McCain's state chair, former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, former Secretary of State Ralph Munro, state Sen. Cheryl Pflug and party Chairman Luke Esser. The first thing off their tongues was their excitement at having such a prominent national figure in town.

Sen. John McCain leads a roundtable discussion

SEATTLE -- Rancher Peter Goldmark kicked off his campaign for State Commissioner of Public Lands tonight at the Olympic Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle. The event featured King County Executive Ron Sims, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and a room full of local Democratic Party dignitaries.  read more »

The state Democratic Party sent out an e-mail today announcing that Peter Goldmark will officially kick off his campaign for Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands, hoping to unseat incumbent Doug Sutherland. Goldmark, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the 5th District in 2006, will be joined at the event by Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.  read more »