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Wednesday, November 24, 2004
WA Gov. Republican Rossi Wins by 42 Votes
Posted by Tim TagarisIt appears that the first (of many) recounts has been completed and Republican Dino Rossi will be victor as certified by the Washington Secretary of State. The final tally, according to King 5 was 42 votes.
Democratic Challenger, Gregoire, trailed by a few hundred votes heading into the recount of the county that provided her the best chance to rebound, King County (Seattle). The results in King County were as follows:
Christine Gregoire D + 593
Dino Rossi R + 348
Ruth Bennett L + 30
Write-in + 82
Unfortunately, it was not enough to put the Democrat over the top. There is a press conference at 3 P.M. where the pronouncement will be made official. You can even call in and listen. From a press release:
Reporters who are unable to attend can still listen to the press conference by calling (360) 357-2903 and entering the code number 10068 followed by the pound key.
All of this comes on the heels of a race in the Montana State Legislature being decided by TWO votes. What makes it more interesting is that the balance of power in the lower house hinges on this race. Story HERE.
There is also a recount in a Texas State House race, where the Democratic challenger apparently won the race by 32 votes against a very powerful member of the State Republican Party. There will, of course, be a re-count. Rules of engagement to be determined by the people who brought you the crazily gerrymandered Congressional Districts. Story HERE
So, let this thread serve as a discussion about the recounts and their results, and the nonsensical nature of election systems that might allow for a different result each and every time a recount is conducted. I am not so sure how healthy that is for democracy.
Tim
Posted at 04:19 PM in Washington | Technorati
Comments
A Republican winning the governorship of a liberal state like Oregon? Seems about as likely as a Republican being governor of other liberal states like Maryland and Massach...oh. Never mind.
Posted by: Dale at November 24, 2004 05:55 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Now that Rossi has lost, watch out for Cantwell. He'll be a front runner against an incumbent. And for most of Washington she's Maria Who?
Cantwell barely won in 2000. She's not be front stage on much of anything since.
My bets are on Terry Bergeson, who should run as a Democrat to unseat Cantwell and then defeat Rossi. Bergeson has won state-wide three times. She has passion. And she'll make a better legislator than executive. There is no there to Cantwell, but as with Patti Murray, there is a lot there with Bergeson.
Rossi v Bergeson is a safer bet than Rossi v Cantwell.
Posted by: Liberation Learning at December 31, 2004 01:50 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
I'm not as worried about Cantwell in 2006. First of all her narrow win was against a 2 (or 3 depending on how you count) term incumbent Republican Senator with extremely high name recognition who had previously served multiple terms as the Washington State Attorney General.
While I have no doubt that Rossi will be much more willing to take the gloves off against Cantwell than Gorton was, I also don't think Cantwell will roll over and play dead the way Gregiore did against Rossi.
Another factor is Cantwell has been out in front on energy issues particularly the BPA, FERC enforced "competition" as it relates to public utilities and the PNW, and the various lawsuits against companies like Enron resulting from the California power "crisis". She is the reason we all have heard the "grandma Millie" quote by Enron's traders.
This is a big issue in Snohomish County which also happens to be a swing area of the state.
Personally, I'd rather stay with Cantwell who at least enjoys the advantages of incumbency than take a chance with someone like Bergeson who would essentially be challenging Rossi for an open seat. Giving Maria a nasty primary fight is the last thing she needs if she is to go up against Rossi.
BTW getting the Deaniacs or one of the unions to back someone in the primary would be a bad idea. The primary fight in the 36th legislative district this year cost Dean supporters and the SEIU one heck of a lot of political capital locally.
Posted by: Chris Stefan at December 31, 2004 09:56 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment