Cheney to visit Spokane for fundraiser

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike McGavick will get a little help this month from the White House in raising money for his campaign against incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell.

Vice President Dick Cheney has scheduled a stop in Spokane for a reception with McGavick at the Davenport Hotel. A campaign spokeswoman said Monday invitations were being mailed for the April 17 event, which features a $500-a-ticket reception with Cheney, McGavick and Reps. Cathy McMorris and Doc Hastings. A small, private reception with a chance to have a photo taken with the vice president for donors who contribute $2,100 is also on the schedule.

Cheney will be raising money for McGavick and the state GOP’s campaign fund and may attend another fundraiser for a congressional candidate in Western Washington earlier in the day. His visit follows a March 21 campaign stop for McGavick in Seattle by Arizona Sen. John McCain, a potential presidential candidate in 2008.

“We feel really good about the attention,” Julie Sund, McGavick campaign spokeswoman, said.

Both campaigns have been able to draw high-powered guests for campaign events. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, a potential Democratic presidential candidate, campaigned for Cantwell in Seattle earlier this year.

But Cantwell, a former legislator and software industry executive finishing her first term, currently has a big advantage in raising money. At the end of 2005, when the most recent campaign reports were available, Cantwell had raised nearly $6.8 million and had more than $5 million in the bank.

McGavick, a former chief operating officer of Safeco and chief of staff to former Sen. Slade Gorton, had raised more than $1.4 million, with nearly $860,000 still available.

McGavick already has the state GOP’s endorsement, but he could face two lesser-known candidates who say they plan to run in the Sept. 19 primary. C. Mark Greene, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Congress in 2004, and Brad Klippert, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate that year, have said they were running but have yet to file reports with the Federal Elections Commission.