Cash race is blazing as Clinton visit nears

Yvonne Ward had already committed to raise money for former Sen. John Edwards' presidential campaign when she got a fundraising phone call herself.

Do you want to come on board with Sen. Barack Obama? asked a fellow attorney working for Edwards' Democratic rival one day last spring.

Such is the state of the presidential campaigns in Washington.

There is little electioneering for voters to see, but the state has become something of a "cash machine" for the campaigns, said Tony Williams, a Republican consultant.

Supporters of the candidates are practically tripping over one another to win donors and pick teams.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to make her first public appearance as a presidential candidate in Seattle Monday at the annual dinner of the state Democratic Party.

The speech, of course, will be followed by a private fundraiser. But traditional campaigning — doorbell-ringing and recruiting field organizers — is much harder to find here.

No candidate has opened a campaign office in Washington, instead focusing money and staff on Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and other early-voting states.

And that's not likely to change.

"We're paying the price for not being in the national sweepstakes," said Williams, who backs Republican Sen. John McCain for president.

Paul Berendt, former state Democratic Party chair, agrees. He sees the three Democratic front-runners — Clinton, Obama and Edwards — "being in the same boat: None of the three will put real resources into the state."

But the so-called "money race" here is feverish, nonetheless.

The state parties will pick their nominees in caucuses Feb. 9 and a statewide primary Feb. 19. But those contests may come too late to influence the national scene: At least 20 states — including California and New York — have scheduled their primaries for Feb. 5.

Colby Underwood, a Seattle fundraiser who has worked for Clinton, said the Democratic campaigns in Washington are all wooing 100 or so influential "opinion leaders" — people with well-stocked wallets and Rolodexes who can sway a wide circle of friends.

"If you're an opinion leader, it would not be surprising to pick up the phone and have Sen. Hillary Clinton talking to you," Underwood said.

Thus far, Washington residents have handed over $3.6 million to presidential campaigns, two-thirds of it to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics' Web site, www.opensecrets.org.

Obama is the runaway money leader with more than $1 million in donations statewide, more than Clinton and Edwards combined. His campaign has pulled in $84,500 from one ZIP code alone in Seattle's Washington Park neighborhood.

Among Republicans, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has raised $549,000 — more than former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, McCain and former Sen. Fred Thompson combined.

All the campaigns are leaning on so-called "bundlers," political activists who pledge to tap friends and colleagues for contributions. Ward, a bundler for Edwards, said she's raised about $10,000.

Louis Frillman, president of an international real-estate firm who works in Issaquah, declined to say how much he has raised for Obama as a bundler. But he said the response from donors has been, "frankly, excellent."

"It's relatively easy to raise money for a candidate whose message resonates with the public," Frillman said.

The handful of presidential polls in Washington thus far mirrors national trends, with Clinton and Giuliani as front-runners in their parties but a large chunk of voters undecided.

In a statewide poll by Seattle's Stuart Elway earlier this month, putting all candidates head to head, "undecided" won with 46 percent. Clinton had 19 percent; Obama, 8 percent; Giuliani, 6 percent; and Edwards, 5 percent.

Washington state last went for a Republican presidential candidate in 1984, picking Ronald Reagan over Walter Mondale.

The most visible campaign in Seattle is that of Ron Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas who is a darling of the Libertarians and some anti-war voters. He has raised $164,000 in Washington, and his handmade campaign signs have begun popping up around Seattle.

Obama's campaign has a grass-roots feel like that of Howard Dean's in 2004. In fact, Obama has tapped into many of Dean's supporters, who've organized events like "Bowling for Obama" at a Capitol Hill bowling alley.

"The main link between Dean and Obama is opposition to the Iraq war," said Peter Masundire, a health-care consultant who helps run an Obama Web site. "People are talking about the dynasties of the Bushes and Clintons. He [Obama] is fresh."

Jim Kainber, who is helping organize Clinton's Washington state campaign, said Clinton's visit Monday will energize her campaign here just as Obama's appearance at a Qwest Field convention hall in June did his.

"Our state has often given a lot of respect to insurgent campaigns, but then it falls in and supports the winning campaign," Kainber said.

Clinton has picked up endorsements from leading Democrats, including former Gov. Gary Locke and King County Executive Ron Sims.

Edwards got his own big endorsement last week from the state chapter of Service Employees International Union. The union, the biggest in the state, has a reputation for aggressive activism.

"The SEIU endorsement will be huge for us in the caucuses," said Seattle attorney Jenny Durkan, chair of Edwards' campaign in Washington.

Ward, the Auburn attorney, said she continues to get fundraising solicitations in the mail, although no other phone calls. She interpreted the call from the Obama supporter last spring like this:

"It told me that Democrats are incredibly invested in winning the White House," she said. "There we were, almost two years ahead of the election, and we're working it."

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