Burner's latest fundraising doubles Reichert's

Democratic challenger Darcy Burner is easily winning the money race against Republican incumbent Rep. Dave Reichert in the contest for Washington's 8th Congressional District seat.

Burner is also outspending Reichert as she tries to unseat a two-term congressman with a long history in public service.

Burner raised nearly $1.2 million between July 1 and Sept. 30, more than double Reichert's total of just over $524,000 for the same period, according to filings the campaigns made Wednesday to the Federal Election Commission.

Overall, Burner has spent about $1.3 million more than Reichert so far in this race. According to the filings, Reichert has spent $1.1 million so far, while Burner used $2.4 million of her campaign coffers.

The 8th District race in the suburbs east of Seattle is one of the most closely watched in the country. It's also the state's only competitive congressional race.

Burner is challenging Reichert for a second time after coming within 8,000 votes of unseating him in 2006. That year, Burner was an unknown and benefited from a Democratic wave that unseated Republicans across the nation in midterm elections.

Burner has been a skilled fundraiser, and has tapped into a large network of online donors. Her latest efforts put her well ahead of the incumbent in the money race with just three weeks left until election day.

So far in this contest, Burner, a former Microsoft Corp. manager, has raised more than $3.15 million. Reichert, a former King County sheriff, has raised $2 million. Reichert joined the sheriff's office in 1972.

"The reason our fundraising has been so strong, it's because voters are really looking for change, now more than ever, with the growing economic crisis," said Sandeep Kaushik, spokesman for Burner's campaign. "That is a strong indication of the surging support that we are seeing for Darcy Burner."

Burner's money "is coming from the liberal left-wing roots," said Amanda Halligan, a spokeswoman for Reichert's campaign. "In building this movement, has she lost touch with the people she's seeking to serve? I think the answer is yes."

Reichert's campaign has criticized Burner for raising money from people outside the district. Burner's camp has countered by saying that most of her money comes from small donors in the district.

Reichert has about $1.2 million in cash on hand, while Burner reports having just over $770,000, the filings show.

Kaushik, Burner's spokesman, said the difference in due to expenditures already made in television advertising. He says Reichert's camp is saving its money, while outside groups are spending thousands against Burner.

Campaign figures reported by The Associated Press here combine two different filings - one covering the dates between July 1 and July 30 and a second one covering the dates of July 31 to Sept. 30.

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On the Net:

Rep. Dave Reichert, http://www.davereichertforcongress.com/

Darcy Burner, http://www.darcyburner.com/