In Washington state, Senator-turned-President Elect Barack Obama emerged the clear victor-though some of the state's other political races are still being debated. More than 83 percent of the state's 3.6 million registered voters likely voted, said Secretary of State Sam Reed in a post-election rap up in The Seattle Times.Though a clear call had yet to be made, it appears once again that Democrat incumbent Governor Christine Gregoire beat Republican Dino Rossi by an extremely narrow margin: in 2004, she won by only 133 votes, out of more than 2.8 million cast. Rossi conceded defeat to Gregoire at noon on Nov. 5. In the Congressional race, Democrat Darcy Burner and Republican incumbent Dave Reichert appear to be locked in a dead heat, with each currently holding 50 percent of the vote. For a full report on all other Washington state voting results, visit The Seattle Times report of the elections.
For county-by-county analysis of the Presidential race, visit The Washington Post's electoral map.
Below is a video of Democrats in Seattle celebrating Barack Obama's victory.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
One Day to Go: Washington Will Vote Obama
It appears Sen. Barack Obama will have no problem securing the Evergreen state in the 2008 Election, as he holds a 10 point lead over competitor Republican John McCain according to Pollster.com.
Though the race has been an extremely close one, it appears the state will also remain blue in terms of its governor. Democrat incumbent Gov. Christine Gregoire holds a very slim lead over challenger Republican Dino Rossi. However, she beat Rossi to attain her position in the previous gubernatorial election by a narrow margin as well, and the state's clear support of the Democratic party in the presidential race will aid her in maintaining her lead once again.
Though the race has been an extremely close one, it appears the state will also remain blue in terms of its governor. Democrat incumbent Gov. Christine Gregoire holds a very slim lead over challenger Republican Dino Rossi. However, she beat Rossi to attain her position in the previous gubernatorial election by a narrow margin as well, and the state's clear support of the Democratic party in the presidential race will aid her in maintaining her lead once again.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Washington Solid Holding for Obama with Less Than 10 Days to Go
RCP's Averaging polls reveal a clear win for Sen. Obama in the Evergreen state. The latest projections from the website show the Democrat leading competitor Sen. John McCain by a whopping 16 points.
The increasingly blue state is also likely to reelect its Democrat Governor, Christine Gregoire, over challenger Republican Dino Rossi, with RCP polls showing the incumbent with a roughly 5 point lead over Rossi, who she previously bested in the 2004 election by an extremely thin margin. Washington, it should be said, has not elected a Republican as governor since 1980.
The most undeterminable race in the state may be that in the Senate between incumbent Republican Dave Reichert and challenging Democrat Darcy Burner, which RCP polls still show as a "toss-up." The web site's assessment of the race has this to say:
The increasingly blue state is also likely to reelect its Democrat Governor, Christine Gregoire, over challenger Republican Dino Rossi, with RCP polls showing the incumbent with a roughly 5 point lead over Rossi, who she previously bested in the 2004 election by an extremely thin margin. Washington, it should be said, has not elected a Republican as governor since 1980.
The most undeterminable race in the state may be that in the Senate between incumbent Republican Dave Reichert and challenging Democrat Darcy Burner, which RCP polls still show as a "toss-up." The web site's assessment of the race has this to say:
Ask the average voter in this suburban Seattle district and Rep. Dave Reichert is not a member of Congress, he's still the sheriff. That image has kept the Republican in office in a district Democrats John Kerry and Al Gore won. 2006 nominee Darcy Burner is back and raising more money than she did two years ago, but Reichert is a survivor, and beating him will be difficult.
Seattle Times Editorial: Rossi and Obama?
The following article is an October 21 Editorial by Seattle Times contributor Lynne Varner, who hypothesizes about the reasons Washington voters appear to be supporting Democrat Barack Obama for President and Republican challenger Dino Rossi for Governor. Read more at the Seattle Times website.
I don't believe strange bedfellows make for good politics.
In leadership positions I tend to vote single-party to ensure unity and strong teamwork. Seems I'm in a growing minority. More than a few voters are indicating a preference for a Democrat in the White House and a Republican at the helm of our state.
I spent a recent evening trying to get a fix on this. At the local level, it appears to be a quest for political balance. Electing Dino Rossi may be some voters way of keeping the tax-and-spend Democrats running the Legislature held in check by a fiscally conservative governor. The weakness of this argument is that fiscal restraint is not a virtue held only by Republicans.
The best way to get things done is to move past partisanship. Lawmakers of like mind and goals are more likely to spend time on the important details that turn ideas into policy.
Readers wonder why I don't invoke the same argument on behalf of Republican leadership. Two wars and a tattered economy keep me from making such an argument on the national front. Locally, I support where Gov. Christine Gregoire has taken our state. Rising costs, including energy, fuel and healthcare, made the governor spend more than even a tax-and-spend liberal would be comfortable with. Gregoire has made investments in education, healthcare coverage for children, social services and other areas. This has certainly raised the level of government spending but for things I believe necessary. I don't want someone who would go in an opposite direction.
But as the saying goes politics makes for strange bedfellows, underscoring that there's plenty of room for opinion on this. Fire away.
From The Seattle Times: Burner loans campaign $140,000 for ads
According to a story in The Seattle Times:
Democrat Darcy Burner loaned her campaign $140,000 last week, just days after her campaign reported record-breaking fundraising numbers in her race against U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in the 8th Congressional District.
Burner raised $1.2 million in three months, according to a campaign filing last week. That's more than double what her Republican opponent raised in the third quarter of this year. The windfall attracted national media attention in one of the most competitive House races in the country.
Democrat Darcy Burner loaned her campaign $140,000 last week, just days after her campaign reported record-breaking fundraising numbers in her race against U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in the 8th Congressional District.
Burner raised $1.2 million in three months, according to a campaign filing last week. That's more than double what her Republican opponent raised in the third quarter of this year. The windfall attracted national media attention in one of the most competitive House races in the country.
From Today's USA TODAY: Deep political divide splits Washington state
Today's USA TODAY:"50 Days, 50 States" column assesses the implications of the heated gubernatorial race between Incumbent Democrat Gov. Christine Gregoire and challenger Republican Dino Rossi for the state's position on the Presidency in 2008. Read the piece below, and visit USA Today's Washington State Website for charts, district maps, and recent polls from Washington State.
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY
RENTON, Wash. — If this election is about change, as Barack Obama and John McCain say, Democrats here in Washington state are asking voters not to go too far.
An increasingly blue state on the national electoral map, Washington hasn't voted for a Republican for president since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
50 STATES/ 50 DAYS: Read the full series
Washington is more evenly split politically when it comes to local politics, and a close rematch in the governor's race is proving that once again.
First-term Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, 61, who won by 133 votes out of 2.8 million cast, is facing the man she beat in 2004, Republican Dino Rossi, in a tough re-election fight.
"It's hard to be running with a national message of change and still turn around and say, 'We don't want any here,' " says Cathy Allen, a Democratic political consultant in Seattle.
Rossi, a former state senator, has been hitting Gregoire with calls for change in TV ads. Rossi, 49, points out that under Gregoire, the state has seen higher unemployment, an increase in the gasoline tax, rising business failures and a $3.2 billion deficit.
"If this is what Chris Gregoire did in four years, do you really want to see what she can do in eight?" one Rossi ad asks.
Gregoire has been countering with the difference between the two on social issues. A former state attorney general, she points out in ads that Rossi opposes abortion: "In these tough times, don't turn back the clock. Dino Rossi is not the change we need."
The two campaigns are spending more than $20 million, making it impossible to miss their TV ads and creating dismay among some voters.
"I really don't want to vote for either one," says Kristen Ballou, a mother from Kent who supports McCain. "The governor's race is ugly."
Washington's politics reflect a divide between Seattle, overwhelmingly Democratic and liberal, and the area east of the Cascade Mountains, where Republicans tend to do well and at least one poll shows Rossi besting Gregoire 2-1.
Both presidential and governor's races may be decided in this in-between battleground east of Seattle and Lake Washington.
It is an area whose residents include Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder. It includes the high-tech, high-growth city of Bellevue, and Renton, where Boeing produces its 737 jetliners.
Interviews with voters here showed sharp divisions over the presidential race but also a willingness among many voters to split their tickets.
"The last two years, I have been very disgusted with where we've ended up," says Jason Thiry, 31, a regional vice president of a carpeting company from Renton who voted for President Bush four years ago.
This time, he says he and his wife will support Obama. But the Democratic governor has not completed her sale to Thiry, who holds her accountable for the region's economic problems.
"It's pretty bad. It's on her watch, too," he says.
Rachael Clemmons, 33, a nurse from Renton, is eager to vote for Obama. She has a 6-year-old daughter with a heart condition and says keeping her health insurance is her biggest concern.
Gregoire cannot yet count on her vote. "I see all these ads on TV, and I don't know what to believe," she says.
Sometimes the ads can have unintended effects.
Tharon Knittle, 35, a mother from Renton supporting McCain, said she decided to vote for Rossi for governor because she saw ads saying he opposes abortion — ads run by Gregoire, his opponent. Knittle says she figures if Rossi opposes abortion, as she does, "the other policies will fall in line more with what I feel."
Yet Rossi hasn't completed the sale with some McCain voters.
Robert Johnston, 51, a writer and transplanted Southerner now in Renton, says he has followed the campaign closely and is "leaning toward McCain."
"He's been tried by fire, and I think our country needs the experience, integrity and courage McCain has to offer," Johnston says. Yet he is attracted to Gregoire by her character as well.
"I'm a conservative in a lot of areas, but I have a real high opinion of Gov. Gregoire and her honesty," Johnston says. "There is something about her — I think her integrity is unquestioned."
Two October polls, by Survey USA and Rasmussen, show Gregoire ahead by 1 and 2 percentage points respectively, within the margins of error.
Still, the prospect of Obama voters turning the Democratic governor out of office is alarming to her partisans, local political observers say.
Luke Esser, state Republican Party chairman, says straight-ticket voting isn't expected in Washington, where voters don't register by party: "In this state, it's every candidate for him or herself," he says.
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY
RENTON, Wash. — If this election is about change, as Barack Obama and John McCain say, Democrats here in Washington state are asking voters not to go too far.
An increasingly blue state on the national electoral map, Washington hasn't voted for a Republican for president since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
50 STATES/ 50 DAYS: Read the full series
Washington is more evenly split politically when it comes to local politics, and a close rematch in the governor's race is proving that once again.
First-term Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, 61, who won by 133 votes out of 2.8 million cast, is facing the man she beat in 2004, Republican Dino Rossi, in a tough re-election fight.
"It's hard to be running with a national message of change and still turn around and say, 'We don't want any here,' " says Cathy Allen, a Democratic political consultant in Seattle.
Rossi, a former state senator, has been hitting Gregoire with calls for change in TV ads. Rossi, 49, points out that under Gregoire, the state has seen higher unemployment, an increase in the gasoline tax, rising business failures and a $3.2 billion deficit.
"If this is what Chris Gregoire did in four years, do you really want to see what she can do in eight?" one Rossi ad asks.
Gregoire has been countering with the difference between the two on social issues. A former state attorney general, she points out in ads that Rossi opposes abortion: "In these tough times, don't turn back the clock. Dino Rossi is not the change we need."
The two campaigns are spending more than $20 million, making it impossible to miss their TV ads and creating dismay among some voters.
"I really don't want to vote for either one," says Kristen Ballou, a mother from Kent who supports McCain. "The governor's race is ugly."
Washington's politics reflect a divide between Seattle, overwhelmingly Democratic and liberal, and the area east of the Cascade Mountains, where Republicans tend to do well and at least one poll shows Rossi besting Gregoire 2-1.
Both presidential and governor's races may be decided in this in-between battleground east of Seattle and Lake Washington.
It is an area whose residents include Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder. It includes the high-tech, high-growth city of Bellevue, and Renton, where Boeing produces its 737 jetliners.
Interviews with voters here showed sharp divisions over the presidential race but also a willingness among many voters to split their tickets.
"The last two years, I have been very disgusted with where we've ended up," says Jason Thiry, 31, a regional vice president of a carpeting company from Renton who voted for President Bush four years ago.
This time, he says he and his wife will support Obama. But the Democratic governor has not completed her sale to Thiry, who holds her accountable for the region's economic problems.
"It's pretty bad. It's on her watch, too," he says.
Rachael Clemmons, 33, a nurse from Renton, is eager to vote for Obama. She has a 6-year-old daughter with a heart condition and says keeping her health insurance is her biggest concern.
Gregoire cannot yet count on her vote. "I see all these ads on TV, and I don't know what to believe," she says.
Sometimes the ads can have unintended effects.
Tharon Knittle, 35, a mother from Renton supporting McCain, said she decided to vote for Rossi for governor because she saw ads saying he opposes abortion — ads run by Gregoire, his opponent. Knittle says she figures if Rossi opposes abortion, as she does, "the other policies will fall in line more with what I feel."
Yet Rossi hasn't completed the sale with some McCain voters.
Robert Johnston, 51, a writer and transplanted Southerner now in Renton, says he has followed the campaign closely and is "leaning toward McCain."
"He's been tried by fire, and I think our country needs the experience, integrity and courage McCain has to offer," Johnston says. Yet he is attracted to Gregoire by her character as well.
"I'm a conservative in a lot of areas, but I have a real high opinion of Gov. Gregoire and her honesty," Johnston says. "There is something about her — I think her integrity is unquestioned."
Two October polls, by Survey USA and Rasmussen, show Gregoire ahead by 1 and 2 percentage points respectively, within the margins of error.
Still, the prospect of Obama voters turning the Democratic governor out of office is alarming to her partisans, local political observers say.
Luke Esser, state Republican Party chairman, says straight-ticket voting isn't expected in Washington, where voters don't register by party: "In this state, it's every candidate for him or herself," he says.
Washington Poll: Gregoire leads Rossi 51 to 45
The latest Washington Poll of 600 registered voters, conducted October 18 to 26, shows Gov. Chris Gregoire leading Republican challenger Dino Rossi by a 48-43 margin. When leaners are included, Gov. Gregoire’s lead increases slightly to 51-45. That’s the second public poll in a row to suggest the race may be breaking toward Gov. Gregoire after months in a virtual deadlock.
Other findings from the poll: Barack Obama leads John McCain 55-34, I-1000 leads 56-38, I-1029 leads 65-20, Prop 1 leads 50-43, and I-985 remains a toss-up at 45-43.
Other findings from the poll: Barack Obama leads John McCain 55-34, I-1000 leads 56-38, I-1029 leads 65-20, Prop 1 leads 50-43, and I-985 remains a toss-up at 45-43.
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