When it comes to the financial side of the local congressional election, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Joe Kent remain far ahead of the rest of the field.
Candidates for Washington’s Third District House race filed their quarterly campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Committee on Friday. Republicans Herrera Beutler and Kent reported more than double the fundraising totals of the next-closest candidate in the race and are the only two campaigns that have more than $1 million in cash on hand.
Herrera Beutler retained her overall fundraising advantage during the quarter. Her campaign raised $604,000 during the first quarter of 2022, compared to $457,000 raised by Kent, and entered April with just over $2 million on hand. More than $1.6 million of the funds came from individual donors and $1.2 million came from Political Action Committees.
“Jaime is pleased to have the resources needed to run a successful campaign based on her record of focusing on Southwest Washington’s priorities,” a spokesman for Herrera Beutler told The Daily News on Tuesday.
Kent had the slight edge when it came to recent individual donations. His campaign brought in $372,200 from individuals and sources other than PACs last quarter, compared to the $362,200 Herrera Beutler took in, and he has received a total of nearly $1.5 million from individuals.
Kent told the Daily News Tuesday that he was deliberately avoiding major donations from PACs so far. “Once you get big money in politics, from corporations and special interest groups, it’s a quick way to owe people that are not your constituents,” Kent said.
The next-closest candidate in terms of fundraising is Heidi St. John, who brought in $222,600 during the first quarter of the year and ended March with $280,000 on hand. All of St. John’s campaign donations this quarter came from individuals.
On the Democrat’s side of the race, Marie Glusenkamp Perez and Brent Hennrich ended the quarter neck-and-neck. The two of them and Republican Leslie French each have raised between $67,000 and $77,000. Perez was the newest entry into the crowded field when she declared her candidacy in February, so the entirety of her fundraising was limited to one and a half months.
The other major name among the candidates is Republican state house Rep. Vicki Kraft, who raised $12,700 during the first quarter and a total of $25,100 since entering the race, though her campaign had less than $5,000 on hand at the end of March.
The Cowlitz County Republican Central Committee is holding an in-person straw poll vote at the party headquarters in Kelso through April 23.
Washington’s primary elections take place Aug. 2.
