The Washington Observer

The Washington Observer

A pre-primary campaign cash roundup

Plus Ferguson works the early endorsement game

Paul Queary's avatar
Paul Queary
Jul 31, 2023
∙ Paid

If that ballot’s still sitting in the pile of campaign fliers, utility bills, and assorted junk mail on the kitchen table, you’ve still got a day to get your act together. To motivate the laggards among you, here’s a look at the money sloshing around in local elections around the state.

The richest contest of the year so far is the mayor’s race in Spokane, where incumbent Nadine Woodward and challenger Lisa Brown have spent nearly $500,000 combined ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Woodward has also benefited from some $210K in outside support from the Realtors and the Spokane Good Government Alliance, a pro-business PAC.

Fun fact about Spokane’s city hall: Originally a Montgomery Ward department store.

The mayor and her supporters are hoping to hang up a big number in the primary to discourage more progressive cash from flowing to Brown, a Democrat who represented Spokane in the Legislature for years before an unsuccessful bid for Congress and a stint as Gov. Jay Inslee’s commerce secretary.

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