The group working to keep Washington
state's gay marriage law said Monday they raised more than $952,000
in June.
“Our supporters made 4,744
contributions and raised $952,267 for the campaign to defend marriage
equality in Washington and approve Referendum 74,” Zach Silk,
campaign manager for Washington
United for Marriage, said in an e-mail to supporters. “And 79%
of our contributions were less than $100.”
“Another very cool stat: 90% of the
donations in June came from Washingtonians,” Silk added.
In a video message released Monday,
Silk thanked supporters: “Thanks to your early investment, we know
that we can win this campaign.” (The video is embedded in the
right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Tuesday is the deadline for initiative
campaigns to file their monthly campaign finance reports with the
state Public Disclosure Commission.
Included in the June total were two
$100,000 donations from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder
Bill Gates.
Supporters said they have raised more
than $2 million for the campaign.
Referendum 74 will ask voters in
November to uphold – or reject – a law legalizing gay marriage
approved by lawmakers.
Silk said he expects fundraising
efforts by opponents to spike in the fall.
“We can't take anything for granted,”
he said.
Preserve Marriage Washington, the group
which put Referendum 74 on the ballot, has raised more than $135,000
as of the end of May, according to public records. The group is
expected to release June totals on Tuesday.
(Related: Narrow
majority of Washington voters support gay marriage.)