Super PAC shakes up 3rd District race financing
Unease landed on those who closely follow Southwest Washington’s congressional race, as one candidate gained a huge fiscal bump from a source outside the district.
Christian podcaster and public speaker Heidi St. John gained a strong foothold in financing after a super political action committee, Conservatives for Stronger America, dumped $724,000 into her campaign.
Details surrounding the donor are rather unclear, as the committee was formed July 6 and is tied to a consulting firm on the East Coast. St. John’s fellow far-right challenger, Joe Kent, rallied his supporters on Twitter to donate to his campaign in light of the external funding. St. John retorted to Kent’s public request and claimed he had a “dark money donor.”
The Federal Election Commission’s quarterly reports covering campaign receipts and disbursements from April 1 to June 30 were released during the strife.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler raked in $582,285 in fundraising, toppling her total cash on hand to $1.1 million, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Kent, the incumbent’s challenger to haul in the second largest amount of funding, collected $323,654 and bumped his total cash on hand to $545,123. St. John’s report showed that she collected $180,766 and had $239,492 cash on hand. State Rep. Vicki Kraft gathered a mere $22,483 during the fundraising cycle.
The viable Democrat in the race, Marie Glusenkamp Perez, raised $138,275 bringing her cash total to $102,027.
Remaining candidates did not have a July quarterly report.
Lauren Ellenbecker
Lauren Ellenbecker is a politics reporter for The Columbian.