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Opponents of Rep. Matt Shea are raising money fast, but still trailing

Rep. Matt Shea is up for re-election, and candidates from both parties are quickly fundraising in attempts to defeat him.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley) has attracted two active challengers, including one from his own party, for the 2020 election.

The controversial state representative has a bigger war chest than either opponent, but both have been speedily raising money in the months since an investigation found Shea participated in an act of domestic terrorism.

The Democratic contender is Lori Feagan, a local nurse. Leonard Christian, a more mainstream Republican who works as a realtor, also announced his bid in December. Christian previously served in the Washington State House for a brief time after being appointed to a vacancy.

All three campaigns have raised decent sums, but neither challenger is measuring up to Shea quite yet. 

Shea has $40,983 banked, which is about average for an incumbent on this side of the state. All of that money was reported well before the investigation's findings were released.

Feagan has raised $13,132.67, all of that coming in just the month of December, when she announced her candidacy. 

Christian has only $7,456 in contributions, but that was all donated on or after Dec. 20.

RELATED: Meet the Democrat and the Republican looking to unseat Matt Shea

So where is the cash coming from?

More than a third of Shea's money doesn't have specific donors tied to it in the current PDC filings. That's because it's listed as "miscellaneous receipts," specifically "surplus funds." In other words, it's money left over from his past campaigns.

The money that is tied to specific donors was mostly reported last August. 

A lot of it comes from local business owners. Notable examples include Duane Alton of Alton's Tires, who's been a particularly reliable Shea donor. Another name is John Ott, who runs Finders Insurance, and some of his family members. 

Neal Davis of Davis Tool, Wayne Barnes of Progress Tool & Die, and Carolyn Gallion of RW Gallion are some more business owners who have given significant sums to Shea.

Shea also has support from some well-known religious leaders, including Barry Byrd of Marble Community Fellowship and Afshin Yaghtin of New Covenant Baptist Church.

About half of Feagan's donors right now live west of the Cascades, with a few others living out-of-state. One notable contribution comes from Lisa Brown, a prominent Washington Democrat who's currently serving as the Washington Commerce Director. Feagan's biggest donors, however, are local business owners.

Nearly all of Christian's donors are local to Spokane Valley or Spokane. The biggest contributions are mostly from retirees right now, as well as a handful of business owners.

The primary election will be held on Aug. 4, 2020. Only the two candidates with the most votes, regardless of party, will move onto the November general election.

RELATED: Rep. Matt Shea responds to release of documents used in investigation

RELATED: Spokane City Council President, activist say Rep. Matt Shea targeted them

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