The rematch between Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert and Democratic challenger Darcy Burner is entering its final rounds, giving one more shot to the political newcomer who came within 3 percentage points of winning the seat two years ago.

This time, the candidates have sharply attacked each other on the failing economy and their respective plans for withdrawing from Iraq, reflecting the shifting political landscape since 2006.

What haven’t changed are the candidates’ arguments about why they are the best ideological fit for Washington’s 8th Congressional District, which includes East Pierce County and most of Seattle’s Eastside suburbs.

Reichert still says he’s a moderate Republican who supports environmental protections and stem cell research, issues he says matter to local voters.

Burner again contends Reichert is too conservative for the district, citing the congressman’s support for President Bush’s tax policies and his view that pharmacists shouldn’t have to fill birth control prescriptions if doing so conflicts with their personal beliefs.

Voters in the 8th District have never sent a Democrat to Congress, though they favored John Kerry and Al Gore during the past two presidential elections.

Still, the Democratic National Campaign Committee has named Burner one of 41 Democratic challengers it thinks could unseat Republican incumbents in the House this November.

A nonpartisan SurveyUSA poll from early September showed Reichert leading Burner 54 percent to 44 percent.

Burner’s pollsters say their surveys indicate she’s taken the lead in recent weeks. Two other polls by Democratic or left-leaning groups also showed her leading Reichert this month.

Meanwhile, Burner has led Reichert in campaign fundraising this year, bringing in more during this campaign than either candidate accrued during the entire 2006 race.

Burner has made more stops than Reichert in East Pierce County during the past two weeks, hosting spaghetti dinners in Buckley and Bonney Lake last week and attending the Orting Pumpkin Festival last Saturday.

Both candidates will be in the south end of the 8th District today – Burner in Puyallup and Graham, and Reichert in Orting.

They’ll try to appeal to swing voters like Pat and Bill Miles, retirees who came to see Burner speak in Bonney Lake last week to see where the candidate stands on some issues dear to them.

“Neither one of us has ever voted a straight party ticket in our lives,” Pat Miles said.

THEIR BACKGROUNDS

Reichert has built much of his reputation with voters around his career as King County sheriff. He held the post in 2001 when investigators captured Green River Killer Gary Ridgway, who admitted to killing 48 women.

Burner is a former Microsoft marketing manager who left the company in 2004 to get involved in politics. She graduated from Harvard with a degree in computer science and a special field in economics, which she’s played up this year as the crisis on Wall Street has deepened.

In a recent TV campaign ad, she accused Reichert of being one of the most ineffective members of Congress, referencing this year’s nonpartisan power rankings on Congress.org that name Reichert the 401st most powerful member of the 435-seat House.

The rankings placed Reichert behind nonvoting members of Congress from Guam and American Samoa.

“The people of the 8th District would get better, more effective representation if they sent a delegate that can’t even vote,” Burner said in one of two debates with Reichert last week.

Her ad claimed Reichert hasn’t had a single bill passed during his four years in office – a fact that changed a few days after the TV spot began running.

Reichert’s bill, dubbed the PRICE of Homeland Security Act, was signed into law this month, allowing state and local agencies more flexibility when spending homeland security grant money.

It is the only bill introduced by Reichert that has been signed into law, according to the Library of Congress Web site, though he’s sponsored others that have been fully or partially absorbed into successful legislation. His campaign cites seven other bills Reichert has moved forward in one form or another.

Reichert said those collaborations show he’s willing to work with members of both parties.

“I can’t remember how many times when I said, ‘I just want to put that language in, I just want to get this through,’” Reichert said in an interview this month. “I don’t care who gets the credit.”

He criticized what he called Burner’s lack of experience and said she’s more focused on promoting Democratic agendas than crafting good policies.

ECONOMIC DIFFERENCES

Both Reichert and Burner publicly opposed the Wall Street bailout package approved by Congress this month.

Reichert voted against the first and second versions of the bill, saying it didn’t do enough to protect taxpayers. Burner came out against it for the same reason, stressing the need for greater fiscal discipline.

The two disagree, however, on taxes.

Burner released an economic plan in September that proposes tax cuts for middle class families, including doubling the standard tax deduction and the child tax credit.

She said the average family would get an additional $4,000 in tax cuts under her plan.

“We have to do that as an economic stimulus right now,” Burner said in one of last week’s debates.

Burner added that she’d support raising taxes on high-income companies and wealthy individuals once the economy improves. She’d use the revenue to pay for important social programs and investments in clean energy.

“Once we pull out of this economic crisis, I think it is a very reasonable thing to ask profitable corporations to pay their fair share,” Burner said. “That’s something Congressman Reichert has never been willing to do.”

Reichert has supported President Bush’s tax cuts. When asked during the debate, he couldn’t name a situation in which he’d vote to raise taxes. He has accused Burner of planning to raise taxes, which she denies.

He said Burner’s proposed middle-class tax cuts wouldn’t work because, by law, people can’t take both a standard deduction and itemize their deductions, as they would have to do to claim the child tax credit.

“You can’t combine two tax forms,” Reichert said. “The numbers don’t add up.”

Burner campaign spokesman Sandeep Kaushik said that’s a part of the tax law that Congress could change with a vote.

Reichert said he wouldn’t propose an economic and tax plan like Burner has done without first consulting economists and other members of Congress.

“I’m not an economic expert,” Reichert said in an interview.

He added in a debate: “For me to say I have the answer would be arrogant.”

PLANS FOR IRAQ

Burner was also part of a group that released a plan in March for completely withdrawing troops from Iraq.

In “A Responsible Plan for Iraq,” Burner and several other Democratic candidates for the U.S. House said there is no military solution to the situation in Iraq. They said U.S. troops should withdraw entirely in favor of diplomatic and economic policies.

Reichert called the plan “irresponsible” and said it would leave no transitional troops to protect Iraqi communities that are in the process of rebuilding.

He said that was the mistake U.S. commanders made before changing strategy during the recent troop surge.

Burner has since suggested withdrawing one brigade from Iraq per month, taking 20 months to remove U.S. forces from the country. She said that timeline is in step with one proposed by military leaders in Iraq.

“We need to make it clear that we are going to responsibly end the war in Iraq and bring our troops and our dollars home safely,” she said.

Reichert said he would want to consult military leaders in depth before suggesting a timeline.

“I’m not the general and I’m not going to say that I want the troops out of there in 20 months or 16 months or 15 months,” Reichert said.

Melissa Santos: 253-552-7058

ABOUT THE CANDIDATES

Dave Reichert

Age: 58

Party affiliation: Republican

Hometown: Auburn

Family: Married with three grown children, six grandchildren

Education: Associate’s degree, Concordia Lutheran College, 1970

Career: King County sheriff’s deputy, 1972-1997; Air Force Reserve, 1971-1976

Elected offices: U.S. Representative, 8th District, 2004-present; King County sheriff, 1997-2004

Key votes in Congress: “Yes” to funding stem cell research, barring same-sex marriage, extending the Patriot Act, repealing the estate tax; “no” to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Endorsements: International Association of Fire Fighters, Washington Education Association, King County Association of Realtors, Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs, Tacoma-Pierce County Association of Realtors, Seattle Police Officers Guild

Darcy Burner

Age: 37

Party affliation: Democrat

Hometown: Carnation

Family: Married, with 5-year-old son

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in computer science with a special field in economics, 1996

Career: Group program manager at Microsoft, 2000-2004; previously employed by technology companies Lotus Development, CenterLine Software and Asymetrix

Elected offices held: None

Community leadership experience: Co-chairperson of the Committee for a Two-Newspaper Town (in Seattle), 2007; past board chairwoman of the Ames Lake Community Club (local homeowners association); past leader of Women at Microsoft

Endorsements: NARAL Pro-Choice America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Washington State Federation of Labor, Transportation Workers Union of America, Washington Federation of State Employees, Emily’s List 8TH DISTRICT FUNDRAISING

2006 2008

(full election (through Sept. 30)

cycle)

REICHERT

Raised$3,039,766$2,268,723

Spent$3,045,918$1,077,856

Cash on hand$3,282$1,194,150

BURNER

Raised$3,060,927$3,180,631

Spent $3,028,902$2,441,338

Cash on hand $32,025$770,989 ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Dave Reichert and Darcy Burner will stop in Pierce County today.

Reichert:

 • 3 to 5 p.m.: Rally at Orting City Park, 110 Train St. Cost is $20.

Burner:

 • About noon: Will visit the Puyallup Farmers Market, 330 South Meridian St., Puyallup

 • 2 p.m.: Will kick off canvassing efforts at her campaign office in Graham, 21707 103rd Ave. Court E., Suite 201