Big names, cash pouring into 8th District congressional contest

Democrats are sending an entourage of marquee politicians to aid congressional challenger Darcy Burner in the closing weeks of her campaign.

Loads of cash — for Burner and her opponent, Rep. Dave Reichert — are following close behind. At least $6 million in TV airtime has been bought so far, including more than $1.2 million spent by each candidate.

And it is likely to get more expensive. The race for the 8th Congressional District — the suburbs and rural lands of eastern King and Pierce counties — is one of the top 15 priorities in the country for Democrats trying to seize control of Congress.

Reichert has had his share of help, too, including a fundraiser with President Bush.

U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), dropped in Thursday as part of a four-state Western fundraising trip. Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, headlines a fundraiser today with abortion-rights groups. And Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is scheduled to fly in a week before the election.

Burner, a former Microsoft manager who has never run for office before, was not recruited by Democrats for the race. But Emanuel said her bid to be the first Democrat ever elected to the U.S. House from the 8th District was now one of his party's strongest in the country.

"I was here six, seven months ago, and had questions if this [race] was a priority" for Democrats, Emanuel said at a press conference in Bellevue. "It is no doubt now. You are at Ground Zero about ... whether this country will go in a new direction."

A poll released Thursday by Constituent Dynamics showed 48 percent of 1,015 likely voters in the district chose Reichert while 45 percent supported Burner. The margin of error was 3 percentage points. The poll echoes three other recent surveys showing the race is close or a dead heat.

Burner has been using images from the Bush fundraiser to portray Reichert as a "Bush Republican."

But Reichert spokeswoman Kimberly Cadena said, "Here's the difference between Bush coming out for Reichert and Pelosi coming out for Darcy: [Reichert] has a record of being an independent member of Congress."

Reichert has a record of voting against the wishes of his party, Cadena said, pointing to rankings from the National Journal, which graded Reichert as a moderate.

In contrast, "Darcy has faithfully stuck to the DCCC talking points through the duration of the campaign," she said.

One of Burner's ads — accusing Reichert of short-changing veterans' health care — has run in similar versions in other races, including in the state's 5th Congressional District in Eastern Washington. And the central theme of her campaign — that Congress and Reichert are a "rubber stamp" for Bush — is central to Democrats' national campaign.

Kate Bedingfield, a spokeswoman for the DCCC, said Reichert is trying to distance himself from Bush, like other Republicans around the country. And Reichert, also like others in the GOP, is accusing his opponent of wanting to raise taxes.

"It's a classic defensive posture," Bedingfield said.

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605 or seattletimes.com">jmartin@seattletimes.com