Gregoire raises a fourth of her funds out of state

By Ralph Thomas
Seattle Times Olympia bureau

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES Christine Gregoire, center, chats with attendees at the Golden Tennis Shoe Awards Breakfast at the Westin Hotel in Seattle last year. Gregoire has drawn financial support from women voters in all 50 states, in part due to being endorsed by EMILY's List.

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Based largely on those factors, Cowan has contributed $75 to Gregoire's campaign for governor.

"She stands for all the things that I admire in a person," Cowan said of Gregoire. "She is definitely on the same side of the charts as I am."

Cowan is among thousands of women from across the country who can't vote for Gregoire but who are using their checkbooks to help her get elected.

Never before have people from other states played such a big role in a Washington governor's race.

When Gov. Gary Locke was first elected in 1996, he drew a lot of support from Asian Americans and ultimately raised more than 15 percent of his money from out of state.

But of the $5.1 million Gregoire had raised as of Thursday, more than $1.3 million — more than 25 percent — came from out-of-state donations.

Gregoire has received donations from all 50 states, including nearly $240,000 from people in California and $161,000 from New Yorkers. In all, Gregoire has received more than 12,000 individual donations from out of state, many of them for under $50.

By comparison, Gregoire's Republican opponent, Dino Rossi, has received only about 300 donations from out of state. Of the $4.9 million he has raised, less than 4 percent came from outside Washington.

Most of Gregoire's out-of-state donations can be credited to the clout of EMILY's List, a national group whose prime mission is electing pro-choice Democratic women.

The group, which boasts nearly 100,000 members nationwide, uses mailings and the Internet to solicit donations for its chosen candidates. EMILY's List so far has helped raise about $9.2 million for the 21 Democratic women it is backing this election year.
 
"That's what we're all about," said Ramona Oliver, EMILY's List spokeswoman.

The EMILY's List label has brought in an estimated $800,000 for Gregoire's campaign against Rossi, who opposes abortion and portrays himself as a fiscal conservative with a social conscience.

On its Web site, the group describes Rossi as "a typical right-wing standard-bearer: anti-choice, earns A+ ratings from the National Rifle Association, and admired by conservative anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist."

Bess Tittle, an 85-year-old freelance writer from San Diego, has sent Gregoire three $50 checks since last fall and plans to put another one in the mail this week. Tittle said she is supporting about eight EMILY's List candidates this year to help combat what she sees as a threat against women from the Christian right.

"They've nearly taken over in some states," said Tittle. "I find that really alarming."

Though Rossi and Gregoire have been matching each other dollar for dollar in the race for campaign cash, Rossi faced no serious opposition in the primary and entered the final month of the campaign with more money in the bank.

As part of its pitch urging donations for Gregoire, EMILY's List is warning members that Rossi will use his cash advantage to launch hard-hitting attacks.

"That's why out-of-state people like me pool their money for candidates like [Gregoire]," said Cowan, the Arizona retiree. "They are going to be under attack and they need outside help."

State Republican leaders earlier this year filed a complaint against EMILY's List, claiming the 19-year-old group was violating a state law that bars special-interest groups from collecting donations on behalf of a candidate.

The complaint was later dismissed after the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) concluded EMILY's List was only soliciting donations, not actually collecting them for Gregoire.

Instead, Gregoire hired a Washington, D.C.-based vendor to receive the money and forward it to her campaign.

State Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance is still fuming over the PDC's ruling, which he says undermined a state law intended to prevent special-interest groups from influencing politicians by "bundling" campaign donations.

"If the NRA had done this, everybody would be screaming," Vance said.

Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882 or rthomas@seattletimes.com