Heidi St. John campaign finances swell in fourth quarter

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The fundraising race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District was deemed a battle between incumbent Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, and Republican Joe Kent of Yacolt. Now another challenger is gaining more traction.

Vancouver Republican Heidi St. John raised $247,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021 – trailing Kent, who raised almost $300,000 during the same period. She credited having a new campaign team for helping her raise more than five times the amount she did in the previous quarter.

Despite St. John only having $338,000 total on hand —compared with Kent’s nearly $1 million and Herrera Beutler’s $1.6 million — she is picking up steam.

Democratic challengers, on the other hand, don’t have viable campaign finances. Brent Hennrich of Vancouver has only about $10,000 cash on hand.

St. John and Kent, the latter who was endorsed by former president Donald Trump, are aggressively vying to unseat the six-term GOP congresswoman by running to her right.

Kent continues to hold rallies in opposition of the self-described “establishment,” as well promote his affiliation with Trump, Steve Bannon and other conservative ideologues. St. John, on the other hand, is bringing Kent’s history to the forefront of her campaign.

In a campaign ad posted in late January, St. John criticizes Kent’s alleged support of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election. She continued to describe Kent, who was a registered Democrat living in Portland at the time, as a liberal carpetbagger.

This coincides with St. John’s belief that she is the best candidate to represent conservative values. St. John, who is an author and speaker on family values and a Christian activist, has been a staunch opponent of COVID-19 mandates, pro-choice movements and the Biden Administration, according to her social media platforms.