U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler continues to lead in fundraising as the quest for the U.S. congressional seat of the Third District of Washington heats up.
According to the first quarter Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings for 2022, Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, received roughly $605,000 in contributions in the last quarter. Her camp sits at the front with roughly $2.9 million collected so far.
It’s the most incumbent Herrera Beutler has raised as the summer of an election season nears. In 2020, she had almost $2 million, and in 2018 she had half of that with about $1 million.
“Jaime is pleased to have the resources needed to run a successful campaign based on her record of focusing on Southwest Washington's priorities like supporting increased domestic energy sources for more affordable gas, saying ‘no’ to any and all tax increases, protecting Social Security, and preserving our native salmon and steelhead for future generations,” Spokesperson Craig Wheeler said in a news release.
Herrera Beutler’s closest challenger is Republican Joe Kent. As of the latest filing, Kent raised $1.85 million in all, with about $452,000 in the latest filing. While it’s not his highest-funded quarter, it still lets his campaign have a comfortable lead above the competition.
Republican challenger Heidi St. John still brought in six figures in her fundraising efforts. As of the latest filings, she raised about $226,000, bringing her total to $808,000.
St. John has trailed Herrera Beutler and Kent throughout the current cycle, but she is ahead of the Democrat-aligned challengers to Herrera Beutler’s seat.
Democrat Brent Hennrich raised $32,000 in the first quarter. Overall, his campaign has about $77,000.
Hennrich is followed by Republican Leslie French who raised about $71,000 in the first quarter, though most of it was from a $70,000 loan French provided to his campaign.
Next in line is newcomer Democrat Marie Gluesenjamp Perez, who raised about $70,000 in the first filing.
Current Washington State Rep. Vicki Kraft raised about $8,000 in the first quarter, with a total of about $25,000. About $7,000 of that amount was a self loan.
