Seattle Mayoral Candidate Jenny Durkan Touts Fundraising: Here's Where She's Getting The Money

SEATTLE, WA - Former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan was the last big-name candidate to jump into the Seattle mayoral race, but she's gotten off to a quick start, earning a recent endorsement from the Seattle Chamber of Commerce's political arm, and raising a ton of cash in just a few weeks. Durkan's campaign sent out a press release Monday touting that she had raised $163,000 in just three weeks, which is more than any of the other front-runners in the primary race. So, just where did Durkan get such a large amount of money in such a short amount of time?

The short answer: probably from wealthy people.

According to her campaign finance reports, in Seattle, Durkan got the most contributions (33) from the city's richest zip code, 98112, where the median income is about $103,000. That zip code includes neighborhoods like Montlake and Madison Park. The average donation from that area was almost $300. About 45 percent of Durkan's Seattle donations came from Seattle zip codes where the median income is above $70,000 (the U.S. average is $51,000).

(Note: out of 375 donations to Durkan from Seattle, 97 did not have a zip code attached and were not included in this analysis.)

Conversely, the highest average donation from a single zip code - $312 - came from 98146, which includes White Center, Burien, and parts of Fauntleroy. That zip code also has one of the lowest median incomes in the city at $58,429. However, Durkan only received four donations from there, which might be why the average is high.

In terms of contribution size, about 40 percent (230) of all campaign contributions were the max of $500, while 19.5 percent were $50 or less. Most of Durkan's contributions, 63 percent, came from Seattle zip codes, while 19 percent came from out-of-state: everywhere from West Virginia to Rhode Island.

In her press release, Durkan highlighted her "grassroots" support.

"I'm grateful for the grassroots support from my friends and neighbors who believe in our progressive agenda for Seattle," she said. "Our city faces a lot of tough challenges from the skyrocketing cost of living to the growing homeless crisis to police reform, and these challenges demand a leader who will listen and work together to get results."

Durkan's contributions did indeed come from all over the city, except for two zip codes: 98134, which covers Sodo, and 98178, which includes Rainier Beach and Rainier View (and parts of King County's Skyway area).

Here's an interactive map of the Seattle donations by zip code, where you can see the number of donations, the average size, and the median household income:

There are 21 people running in the mayoral primary, but six, including Durkan, are seen as front runners. Here are where they stand in terms of overall funds raised:

• Nikkita Oliver - $46,698
• Mike McGinn - $13,334
• Cary Moon - $12,175
• Jessyn Farrell - $5,500
• Bob Hasegawa $5 (Hasegawa, a member of the state Legislature, is not allowed to raise money until the end of the legislative session)

Image via Associated Press