The 2022 midterm election for Washington’s Third Congressional District has already broken fundraising records as the Democratic candidate in the race now leads the pack in contributions.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez eked ahead of Republican Joe Kent in fundraising in the pre-general election filings with the Federal Elections Commission. As of those filings, which go through Oct. 19, Gluesenkamp Perez raised about $3.3 million for the race, above Kent’s roughly $3.2 million.
Gluesenkamp Perez saw her first big funding break in the October quarterly filings which covered July 15 through September, where she raised about $2.15 million. In the 19 days covered in the pre-general filing she raised about $892,000.
Kent had previously been in the lead among candidates in the race before the pre-general filings were published. Of his $3.2 million raised, $702,000 came in from July 15 through September. His campaign also raised about $236,000 from Oct. 1 to Oct. 19.
The 2022 race has already surpassed the previous record in the district for fundraising by about $2.7 million. All of the candidates who filed raised about $11.6 million, about $10.3 million of which came from Gluesenkamp Perez, Kent, and Jaime Herrera Beutler, the Republican incumbent who came in third in the primary by a slim margin. In 2020, Third District candidates raised close to $8.9 million, which was a jump in fundraising from 2018 where candidates raised more than $7.4 million.
In both of those races, Herrera Beutler faced Democrat Carolyn Long in the general election. Though she outraised Long in 2020, Herrera Beutler’s competitor raised nearly $1.2 million more in 2018.
As of the October quarterly reports for 2022, Herrera Beutler still raised the most of any candidate with close to $3.8 million. The number was less than the roughly $4.6 million raised in her 2020 campaign, but was still at least $1 million more than any of her five other campaigns.
County races
The Congressional hopefuls aren’t the only ones who have raised thousands of dollars for elections featured on the November ballot for Clark County voters this year.
The Clark County Council has three of its five seats up for election this year. All three of the races feature newcomers. The race with the most money raised is for the District 5 seat, which covers North Clark County. The district includes the cities of Battle Ground, Ridgefield and La Center as well as the town of Yacolt.
In that race, former Washington State Sen. Don Benton has raised the most with about $97,000 as of press deadline. Fellow candidate Sue Marshall has raised close to $82,000, which is the second highest amount among the county council candidates.
Candidates for Clark County Council District 2 did not raise as much money as the District 5 candidates, but the cash that came in still dwarfs what was raised the last time the seat came up for a vote.
District 2 covers the urban area to the north of Vancouver city limits. As of press deadline, candidate Chartisha Roberts raised roughly $52,000, while her fellow candidate Michelle Belkot raised about $37,000.
The candidates raised significantly more than the candidates for the seat in 2018. That year, incumbent Julie Olson raised about $19,000 and won re-election against Elizabeth Veneman, who raised roughly $10,000.
For Clark County Council District 1, which includes Vancouver west of Interstate 205, candidate Glen Yung raised about $52,000, while his competitor Hector Hinojosa raised roughly $32,000 as of press deadline.
The two candidates raised more than the candidates received in 2018. That year, current seatholder Temple Lentz raised about $62,000 to unseat incumbent Jeanne Stewart, who raised roughly $10,000.
The county race which brought in the most was for the position of Clark County sheriff. As of press deadline, candidate John Horch fundraised the most with close to $142,000, while fellow candidate Rey Reynolds raised about $70,000. The winner in the November election will replace Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins, who decided not to run for another term.
Outside of the sheriff race, the only competitive county executive race featured totals that surpassed some of the county council seats. Incumbent Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey raised about $70,000 as of press deadline, while his challenger, Brett Simpson, had about $47,000 on the books.
Washington State Legislature
Seats in the Washington State House of Representatives in the 17th Legislative District feature Republicans who have outraised their Democratic competitors, which hasn’t always been the case.
For position 1, Republican Kevin Waters raised about $134,000 as of press deadline. His Democratic challenger Terri Niles has roughly $53,000.
The total raised is significantly lower than 2020’s contest, where Democratic challenger Tanisha Harris raised about $368,000. Harris ended up losing to incumbent Republican Vicki Kraft, who raised roughly $113,000 for that election.
For position 2, incumbent Republican Paul Harris raised more than he did in 2020. As of press deadline, Harris has about $184,000, while Democrat Joe Kear raised roughly $33,000.
In 2020, Harris raised roughly $128,000, though his challenger, fellow Republican Bryan White, raised nothing.
For the 18th Legislative District, one race has a Democrat ahead in fundraising while the other has a Republican in the lead.
For position one, Democrat John Zingale leads with about $116,000 as of press deadline. Republican Stephanie McClintock raised roughly $76,000.
The candidates are seeking to replace incumbent Republican Brandon Vick who is not running for re-election. In 2020, Vick raised close to $156,000, far more than his challenger Kassandra Bessert who had about $4,600.
The position 2 race to replace retiring Republican Rep. Larry Hoff has a similar fundraising total to two years ago but features a closer spread between the candidates. As of press deadline, Republican Greg Cheney raised about $125,000, compared to Democrat Duncan Camacho’s roughly $103,000.
In 2020, Hoff raised about $143,000, while his Democratic challenger Donna Sinclair raised roughly $92,000.
Ballots for the November election have been mailed. The deadline to submit ballots is 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8.
