Republican Dino Rossi, for the first time, has more money backing his candidacy than Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire.

New filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission show that supporters running independent campaigns that back Rossi have raised an additional $8 million this month. Combined with the money Rossi has raised, that puts more than $22 million behind his candidacy. The total includes about $9.7 million raised by Rossi's campaign, $7.2 million raised by the political action committee It's Time for a Change, and $5.5 million raised by the Washington state Republican Governors PAC. It's Time for a Change is funded largely by the Building Industry Association of Washington.

Gregoire has close to $16 million backing her, about $10.8 million raised by her campaign and another $5.1 million raised by Evergreen Progress, an independent campaign largely funded by labor groups.

Combined, the two campaigns and their supporters have raised more than $38 million. It's hard to say what impact this could have on the governor's race in the final weeks of the election, but Rossi's backers have built a substantial lead when it comes to money.