Biden coming to Seattle to raise money for Murray

[ccharles000]

A powerful U.S. Senator has the clout to import a power player when it comes time to raise campaign cash.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is doing just that. She is bringing Vice President Joe Biden to Seattle for a Nov. 6 fundraising luncheon at the Westin Hotel.

A one-term state senator and self-described "mom in tennis shoes" when elected in 1992, Murray is now a member of the U.S. Senate's Democratic leadership and a subcommittee chair on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Murray campaign was mum on Monday, but the senator's new campaign Web site is selling tickets and soliciting donations: The suggested gifts to Murray's 2010 reelection campaign start at $50 and go all the way up to $10,000 and $14,800.

High end givers are people once memorably described by Stan Barer, Seattle lawyer-shipping executive and a Murray supporter, as "those who invest in their politics."

Murray was elected in 1992 with a low-budget campaign that spent just $1.2 million. As of June 30, she had already raised more than $7 million in the 2010 election cycle and had $4.3 million in the bank. In recent weeks, as Murray prepares to seek a fourth term, Democratic donors have received a lengthy letter soliciting donations.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/182558.asp?from=blog_last3