Darcy Burner’s chances of overtaking Rep. Dave Reichert (R – WA, 8th) have improved, according to several recent reports. For example, The Seattle Times reported Monday that she’s raised a surprisingly large $300,000-plus recently and convinced local and national Dems to back her.

The story sounds coincidentally similar to another in the New York Times about lawyer/novice politician Kirsten Gillibrand’s race to unseat a popular Republican incumbent. This is exactly the sort of story you’d expect with the election six months away: evidence that a horse race may be on the horizon.

The Seattle P-I credits Burner’s blogging experience for raising her visibility with Web-savvy donors. Of course, the backers of the Daily Kos and other blogs get a fair share of credit.

Polls still show her trailing the more experienced Reichert. Though the election is still a ways off, I haven’t noticed any sign in the district that Reichert is in trouble.