Follow the cash in county executive race

Imagine being the top elected official in Snohomish County, a well-known figure with twice the amount of campaign cash to burn as your opponent.

Would you spend the money now or save it for later in the campaign?

Then put yourself in the other guy's shoes. Would it be better to be thrifty or to go on a big splurge ahead of this month's primary election?

Those are the relative positions of two rivals vying to be Snohomish County executive: two-term Democratic incumbent Aaron Reardon and his Republican opponent, state Rep. Mike Hope.

Reardon has raised $183,364 for the campaign as of Friday to Hope's $88,276. While Reardon had much more money, Hope has outspent him by some $20,000. Reardon has yet to go through a third of his cash, while Hope has used up 86 percent of his.

That's a pretty typical pattern, according to experts.