Tom withdraws from 8th District race

State Sen. Rodney Tom abandoned the 8th District congressional race Wednesday and endorsed his rival for the Democratic nomination, Darcy Burner, who is reprising her 2006 campaign against Republican Rep. Dave Reichert.

The Medina lawmaker's surprising withdrawal, seven weeks after announcing his candidacy, ended his effort to cast himself as a political moderate more in tune with the suburban, increasingly Democratic-leaning district than Burner, a favorite of anti-Iraq war activists and liberal political bloggers. The district encompasses most of eastern King and Pierce counties.

"Our fundraising was going great, but Darcy Burner's campaign has been phenomenal," Tom said in an e-mailed statement. "Darcy has over 3,200 contributors, an incredible statement to her broad base of support."

Tom, 44, said his "purpose from the start was to replace the current congressman with someone who actually represents the values of the 8th District. Dave Reichert is completely out of step with the values shared in this district. Darcy Burner's campaign has proven they have the leadership, strength and momentum to win next November."

Burner has been an aggressive fundraiser. When President Bush came to Bellevue last month to raise money for Reichert's campaign for a third term, Burner used the event to raise more than $100,000 for her own campaign, mainly from online contributors.

Tom said he raised about $90,000, and had commitments for approximately $40,000 more. By contrast, Sandeep Kaushik, Burner's campaign spokesman, said she has raised "more than $400,000." Tom said he will refund all of the contributions to his campaign.

He said Burner's huge number of small donors is "phenomenal. I mean, that's what democracy was meant to be, thousands of $20 and $30 donations. My hat is off to her."

Many of the Democrats' liberal activists were reluctant to forgive Tom for his Republican past. He was elected to two terms in the state House as a Republican before switching parties in 2005 and winning election to the state Senate as a Democrat last year.

Burner issued a statement commending Tom "for the grace with which he conducted his campaign" and called him "a wonderful addition to the Democratic Party." She said, "We will be working together in the future to bring real change to the district."

Burner, a Carnation-area resident, former Microsoft manager and Reichert's only known challenger, lost to him by only 3 percentage points last year despite never having run for public office before.