Mike McGavick announced just now that he donated $2 million to his campaign. It will be reported as a personal loan to the campaign.

McGavick said in statement:

From the beginning of this U.S. Senate campaign, my wife Gaelynn and I have thought about this decision. I am making this personal contribution to the campaign because so many Washingtonians have worked hard to get us where we are today.

We know that the incumbent senator and her allies are spending and will spend nearly unlimited amounts to win this election. My opponents have already placed over $5 million in television buys throughout the state.

MORE:

McGavick trails Sen. Maria Cantwell in fund raising and Democrats have been expecting McGavick to use some of his own money to catch up.

McGavick raised about $4.4 million through June 30 and had more than $1 million in the bank. Cantwell has raised more than $11 million and had about $6.4 million in the bank.

Cantwell, a former high-tech executive, largely self-financed her $10 million 2000 campaign.

Said McGavick:

In 2000, Sen. Cantwell contributed over $10 million dollars to her campaign and outspent her opponent two to one. She has been a tireless fundraiser over the last five years, raising over $16 million since her election, nearly 60 percent of it from outside our state. From her campaign contributions, Sen. Cantwell has put $1.1 million into her personal bank account in loan repayments and her campaign still owes her $2.3 million — money she continues to loan her campaign and that they are able to spend each day in this election.

MORE:

McGavick is a multi-millionaire from his work as CEO of Safeco. He got $28 million when he left the company earlier this year. The money came from stock options, bonuses and performance rewards.

Disclosure forms filed with the U.S. Senate show his net worth between $36 million and $65 million.

The McGavick loan triggers the so-called "Millionaire's Amendment." That is a Federal Election Commission rule that raises the amount of money that can be raised by opponents of a self-financed candidate. It can also raise the lid on what the political parties can spend on media.

McGavick spokesman Elliott Bundy said the loan triggers the Millionaire's Amendment for McGavick's "primary opponents only and has no affect on Sen. Cantwell. Accordingly with FEC regulations we have notified our primary opponents of Mike's contribution."

McGavick has five, little known, primary opponents and none have raised any significant money or run any visible campaign.

Cantwell has asked the FEC to clarify whether she could raise more money if McGavick donated to his own campaign before next month's primary. As Alex Fryer reported in the Times last month:

Because McGavick doesn't have a viable Republican opponent, Cantwell argues that any personal investment made by McGavick should trigger the Millionaires' Amendment and allow Cantwell to ask her donors to write bigger checks.

MORE:

Democrats say their concerns about what they call McGavick's golden parachute have been justified. Said state party spokesman Kelly Steele:

"The $2 million is the first installment of his illegal, special interest favor from his insurance industry pals."

Cantwell's chief strategist Michael Meehan said the Cantwell campaign will continue to press its case with the FEC about the Millionaire's Amendment. He said that McGavick never mentions his Republican opponents on the campaign trail:

"He has always said, 'My opponent Senator Cantwell' so we firmly believe he thinks we're his opponents."

Meehan said if the donation limits were raised for Cantwell donors now limited to $4,200 could give her $25,200 instead.

He also said Cantwell has spent $1.5 million on TV buys so far, not the $5 million that McGavick claimed in his statement. Bundy said the $5 million is what Cantwell and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee have reserved at TV stations around the state.

CLARIFICATION: McGavick was careful in the wording of his statement in regard to the TV buys, saying, "We know that the incumbent senator and her allies are spending and will spend nearly unlimited amounts to win this election. My opponents have already placed over $5 million in television buys throughout the state." "Placed" means air time reserved but not necessarily paid for.

Steele was quick to point out that the reference to "My opponents" again obviously refers to Cantwell and the Democrats, not the little known GOP opponents who were informed of McGavick's loan to satisfy requirements of the Millionaire's Amendment.