Overheard on the John Carlson Show
A Democratic operative just called me to report that on today’s John Carlson show, Republican Senator John McCain, in Seattle for a fundraiser, described the race for the 8th Congressional District between Democrat Darcy Burner and Republican Congressman Dave Reichert as “a close one to watch.”
Guess McCain hasn’t been getting all those recent press releases casting Reichert as a formidable incumbent.
UPDATE: And that fundraiser McCain’s in town for… It’s to benefit Republican Mike McGavick, who’s trying to unseat Washington’s junior senator, Maria Cantwell. You can watch McCain’s seech for the $250-a-plate McGavick fundraiser via a live webcast that begins at 7:15, here. By the way, the closer you want to get to the visiting Senator at the event, the more it will cost you: It’s $250 for the meal, but $1,000 for the VIP reception at 6, and $4,200 to have your picture taken with campaign finance reform guru McCain.
I ponied up the $250 and went. If you really wanted to, you could have just walked up to McCain and talked to him during dinner, as some people did.
This sort of tiered fundraising is very normal, also. (And in case anyone was wondering, $4200 is the maximum donation anyone can give for the entire year to a single candidate.)
It was a good event, for both McCain and McGavick. I think McGavick is a very strong candidate, and will beat Cantwell in November. But people said I was crazy when I said Rossi would win, six months before the election ... so what do I know? :-)