President coming to Seattle

WASHINGTON – President Bush will attend a private reception next Friday in the Seattle suburb of Medina, Wash., to raise money for Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, the White House said.

The visit to the suburban 8th District comes as Democrat Darcy Burner attracted national attention in political circles by raising more campaign money than Reichert in the first quarter of the year.

Reichert, a former King County sheriff who was elected to Congress in 2004, has been targeted by state and national Democrats, in part because the East Side district voted for Democrat John Kerry for president two years ago.

Burner, a former Microsoft Corp. executive and political newcomer, raised $334,000 in the first three months of the year, compared with $268,000 for Reichert.

Reichert, of Auburn, still has the overall advantage, with more than $1.4 million raised to $540,000 for Burner, of Carnation, campaign finance reports show.

White House officials declined to release details of the trip, but Democrats said the president will visit the Medina mansion of Peter Neupert.

Neupert is a Microsoft Corp. corporate vice president and former chief executive of drug store.com.

Proceeds from the $1,000-a-head reception will benefit Reichert and the Washington state Republican Party.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike McGavick has said he will not attend the event because the date conflicts with his eldest son’s high school graduation.

McGavick said he is traveling to Pennsylvania for his son’s graduation on Thursday.

McGavick hosted Vice President Dick Cheney at fundraising stops around the state in April.

A spokeswoman for Reichert’s campaign declined to comment Friday, directing reporters to the White House.

Democrats, for their part, were elated.

“We’ve done it! Because you have made this one of the hottest races in the country, Karl Rove is sending George Bush to campaign for Reichert and against us,” Burner said in a fundraising e-mail.

“Rove, Bush and Reichert think that they can buy this seat. Please help us stop them,” Burner wrote.

Reichert has emphasized his independence from the Bush administration and GOP leaders in Congress, especially on environmental issues.

But Burner’s campaign manager, Zach Silk, said the president’s visit “proves what we’ve been saying all along – that Dave Reichert is a Bush Republican.”