Gregoire campaign raises about $450,000 in May

OLYMPIA – Attorney General Christine Gregoire raised about $450,000 last month for her bid for governor, pushing her total to more than $2 million, her campaign said Tuesday.

The campaign took in money from 4,100 donors, including 3,000 who hadn’t previously given to the Democrat, said Morton Brilliant, a campaign spokesman.

Republican Dino Rossi raised about $300,000 during the same period, which also pushed him past the $2 million mark, said Mary Lane, a spokeswoman for the campaign.

Neither campaign could provide figures for how much cash it has in hand. As of May 1, Rossi had raised less money overall than Gregoire but had more in hand.

“Their burn rate is really high,” Lane said.

Formal reports on May fund raising are due to the Public Disclosure Commission on June 10.

Gregoire likely lengthened her fund-raising lead over King County Executive Ron Sims, her rival for the Democratic nomination. Sims had raised less than $800,000 as of May 1. His campaign couldn’t immediately provide numbers for May.

“We haven’t come up with a final number yet,” spokesman Tim Hatley said.