Election Races Tighten

While campaign finances are not the deciding factor in a race, the amount of money a campaign raises and spends is critical. Recent data from the Public Disclosure Commission shows two races in Tacoma are even closer now and a third is beginning to heat up.

From a purely financial perspective, the race for mayor has been close throughout this campaign season.

The Merritt campaign started early and held a lead in contributions for several months until the last couple of weeks. Recent data now shows the Strickland campaign has pulled ahead ever so slightly.

In the race to replace Mike Lonergan, Keven Rojecki's campaign has had a major lead in the amount of money raised. However, Victoria Woodards' campaign has managed to pull somewhat closer.

In the race to replace Connie Ladenburg, who represents the south end of Tacoma, the numbers have been fairly stagnant until the last month. Both campaigns have raised significant amounts of money as the election approaches. Beckie Summers-Kirby has broken the $20,000 mark for contributions raised and Joe Lonergan's campaign can be expected to reach that mark before this election is over.

The key element in all of these campaigns will be how they spend the money over the last few weeks of this election season. The answer will likely detemine the outcome of these three races.