VANCOUVER, Wash. - Political action committees are pouring money into Southwest Washington's 17th and 18th legislative districts as Democrats push to flip the Republican-held seats and move closer to a supermajority in Olympia, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
Donna Sinclair, vice chair of the Clark County Democrats, told OPB the tone of local campaigns has turned sharply negative since her own 2020 run in the 18th district, which she described as collegial. She said attack mailers have arrived at her home in the 17th district months before the November general election, something she said has never happened to her in a primary without serious intraparty competition.
The 17th district stretches from east Vancouver's suburbs through Skamania County and parts of Klickitat County along the Columbia River Gorge, while the 18th covers north Clark County, including Battle Ground. The 2024 races there were among the state's closest, and Democrat Adrian Cortes flipped the 18th district Senate seat by just 189 votes, according to Washington State Democratic Party chair Shasti Conrad.
"We're hopeful for a number of districts around the state but particularly in Southwest Washington," Conrad said, per OPB. Democrats would need to gain 10 seats across both chambers to reach a supermajority, which would let them take actions requiring two-thirds support, such as redrawing congressional maps or codifying abortion rights in the state Constitution.
Each of the four Democratic House candidates in the two districts faces around $100,000 in PAC spending against their campaigns, according to Washington State Public Disclosure Commission records. The groups behind the spending, Citizens for Responsible Governance and Southwest Communities First, are offshoots of Lacey-based Enterprise Washington, which says it runs programs aimed at pro-business lawmakers, campaign finance and tax records show.
A website for Southwest Communities First lists its top three PAC donors as the Washington State Dental Association, the Washington Realtors Association and Washington Hospital Services. An Enterprise Washington representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment, OPB reported.
The four Republican incumbents face no independent expenditures against their campaigns. State Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh said the party is watching but sees no reason the races will be close, calling Democratic supermajority hopes "fairytales." He added that the 3rd Congressional District primary outcome could sour some progressive voters on turning out in November.