Washington governor election sees $7 million spent ahead of primary

Candidates for statewide office in Washington are shelling out big money ahead of Tuesday's primary election , with about $7 million spent by the candidates for governor alone in recent weeks.

Why it matters: The top-two primary decides which two candidates in each race will advance to the November election, making it do-or-die for many campaigns.

Yes, but: Even candidates who are almost certain to make it through have been busy writing big checks.

By the numbers: Democrat Bob Ferguson, the state's attorney general, spent about $4.9 million campaigning for governor between June 1 and the end of July. That included about $500,000 of goods and services that were donated to help his campaign.

• Ferguson's spending was more than any other state or local candidate's in Washington during that time, per the state Public Disclosure Commission .
• That's more than any other state or local candidate in Washington during that time, per the state Public Disclosure Commission .
• Ferguson's best-funded Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert , spent about $1.8 million during the same period.

The other top spenders in the governor's race, Democrat Mark Mullet and Republican Semi Bird , spent about $109,000 and $181,000, respectively, in that period.

What they're saying: "It's all about momentum," Heather Weiner, a Democratic political consultant, tells Axios.

• "Both Reichert and Ferguson want to be in the lead coming out of the primary, both for voter perception and donor perception."

Between the lines: Neither candidate wants his intraparty rival to outperform expectations, Alex Hays, a Republican political consultant, tells Axios.

• "People will perceive that as a weakness," Hays says.
• It's also cheaper for the candidates to buy TV ads now versus in the fall, when other campaigns — including for ballot initiatives and the presidential race — will compete for voters' attention, he says.

The big picture: All told, Ferguson had raised about $9 million for his campaign as of Friday. Reichert had raised $4.3 million, Mullet had raised $1.3 million, and Bird had raised about $700,000.

Zoom out: Democrats Manka Dhingra and Nick Brown have each spent more than $1.2 million campaigning to replace Ferguson as attorney general .

• Dhingra, a state senator and former prosecutor, poured $250,000 of her own money into her campaign last month, a step she told Axios was necessary because she couldn't raise money during the legislative session under state law.
• Brown, a former U.S. attorney, wasn't subject to those fundraising restrictions.

Money is also flowing into the race for state public lands commissioner, a job that is open because the current officeholder, Hilary Franz, is running for Congress .

• King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove and former U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler have raised the most money so far.
• But Democratic state Rep. Kevin Van DeWege is benefiting from big third-party PAC spending .
• And Democrat Patrick DePoe , tribal relations director for the state Department of Natural Resources, has a political action committee backed by tribes working to help elect him.

What we're watching: Whether two Republicans will end up facing off this fall for lands commissioner, if the Democrats in the race end up splitting the vote.

• Under Washington's top-two primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance, making intraparty matchups possible.