A three-way race is on to replace retiring 37th District Democratic Sen. Adam Kline.
Pramila Jayapal, the odds-on favorite, and John Stafford filed their paperwork with the Washington Secretary of State Wednesday, joining Claude Burfect's earlier filing to represent the southern Seattle district.
Jayapal, the former head of the OneAmerica advocacy group, currently reports some $82,000 raised for her campaign, by far the most in the 37th. Stafford, school teacher and former treasurer for Arts in Motion, reports $4,500. There is no fund-raising information for Burfect on the state Public Disclosure Commission website. Several other people have formed campaign committees and raised funds, so the field could still grow.
Meanwhile, no Republican has surfaced yet to take on Rep. Cyrus Habib, D-Kirkland, to replace retiring Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, in the 48th District. Also, no Democrat has emerged yet in the 47th District to take on Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn. Both districts are theoretically swing districts in the fight to control the Washington Senate in 2015. Right now, Republicans — aided by two defecting Democrats, including Tom — run the Senate with a 26-23 advantage.
The Washington House races have lower profiles because the Republicans would need a huge run of luck to overcome their 55-43 deficit in the lower chamber. The filing deadline is 5 p.m. Friday.
Here is a rundown of Wednesday's congressional and Washington Senate filings.
- 6th District, part of Spokane County: Democrat Rich Cowan filed Wednesday to take on incumbent Sen. Mike Baumgartner, R-Spokane. This is a seat where Democrats think they could pull an upset.
- 1st Congressional District: Republican Edwin Moats of Arlington filed Wednesday. The leading announced Republican, Pedro Celis of Redmond, has not filed yet against incumbent Democrat Suzan DelBene and perennial candidate Mike the Mover. The party establishments are expecting a DelBene-Celis November ballot.
- 4th Congressional District: State Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry became the seventh Republican Wednesday seeking to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings. Republicans Dan Newhouse of the Yakima Valley, Clint Didier of Eltopia, George Cicotte of Kennewick and Kevin Midhurst of Richland have already filed. Also, Democrat Estakio Beltran of Richland has already filed.
- Sixth Congressional District: Republican Marty McClendon of Gig Harbor filed Wednesday to take on incumbent Democrat Derek Kilmer and independent W. "Greybeard” McPherson of Port Angeles. The sixth is now a legitimate Republican-Democratic contest.
- Eighth Congressional District: Incumbent Republican Dave Reichert filed Wednesday; he will face Democratic challenger Jason Ritchie of Issaquah. This is also now a legit Republican-versus-Democrat race.
While most races shaped up with filings earlier in the week, expected contests in two other districts haven't become official:
- 42nd District, more or less Whatcom County: Incumbent Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale filed Monday. His probable Democratic opponent Seth Fleetwood has not filed yet. Democrats view this as a potential swing district in their quest to gain control of the Senate.
- 31st District, northeastern Pierce County, southeastern King County: Incumbent Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, has announced she is seeking re-election, but has not filed yet. Rep Cathy Dahlquist, R-Enumclaw, and Democrat Lane Walthers have already filed. Dahlquist's candidacy is a serious Republican-originated attempt to unseat the sometimes-controversial Roach.
