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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Fund-raiser out of bounds, or just out of boundaries?

Central Washington's 4th Congressional District race may be so crowded that it can't quite hold all the candidate events for the campaign.

Republican Janea Holmquist has a fund-raiser in Ellensburg this weekend, which is in Kittitas County. The flyer for the event says she's "worked hard for Kittitas County and it won't stop when she is in Congress."

Seems strange, one critic e-mailed, considering that Kittitas County isn't in the 4th District. Used to be, but that changed in 2012 when the redistricting commission redrew the lines. But the county is in Holmquist's legislative district. 

Campaign manager Joyce Mathews said some longtime constituents from her time in the Legislature wanted to throw a fund-raiser to show their support. As for the suggestion that she'd be a "strong voice for Kittitas County", as the flyer also promises, Mathews said Holmquist is familiar with Central Washington issues, which are the same in Kittitas as in neighboring counties in the 4th District. 

"She knows the votes aren't coming out if Kittitas," Mathews said. "We clearly know where the boundaries are." 

Holmquist is one of 12 candidates vying for Rep. Doc Hastings' old seat -- eight Republicans, two Democrats and two independents.



Jim Camden
Jim Camden joined The Spokesman-Review in 1981 and retired in 2021. He is currently the political and state government correspondent covering Washington state.

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