A national trade organization representing wine and spirit wholesalers has contributed nearly $3.7 million to defeat an initiative that would allow grocery stores to sell hard liquor, according to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. With these latest contributions from the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, Protect Our Communities has raised a total of $3.9 million to defeat I-1183, which is funded primarily by retail giant Costco.

If approved by voters in November, I-1183 would allow grocery stores over 10,000 square feet throughout the state to begin selling liquor (including Costco, which many believe could sell it at lower prices) and shut down over 300 state-run liquor stores.

The Yes on I-1183 campaign, meanwhile, has only raised $2.4 million—$50,000 in donations from Trader Joe's, the rest from Costco.

This year's battle is following in the footsteps of last year's liquor initiative fight, when Costco ran a similar measure that was challenged primarily by beer and wine distributors (the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Washington Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association gave more than half of the $9.2 million to defeat Costco last year). Why? They arguably fear that Costco, which buys in bulk and sells product cheap, would become a de facto wholesaler, edging other distributors out out of the market. Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, Inc. estimates that its members distribute 80 percent of all the wholesale wines and spirits sold in the US.