Key Washington state Senate race is drawing big money

OLYMPIA – A competitive Washington state Senate election that will determine the balance of power in Olympia is already drawing big money.

The Seattle Times reported that candidates and outside political groups have raised or spent more than $2.2 million for a special election in the district that includes the Seattle suburbs of Woodinville, Kirkland and Redmond.

Voters will choose a replacement for Republican Sen. Andy Hill, who died last year.

The front-runners are Democrat Manka Dhingra, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney in King County, and Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund, who has worked as a staffer for U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

The candidates have raised a combined $1.2 million. Independent groups backed by GOP and Democratic funding sources have spent roughly another $1 million.

Independent candidate Parker Harris is also on the Aug. 1 primary ballot that will determine which two candidates advance to the Nov. 7 election.