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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Did Shea break pledge to Republican group?

In August, state Rep. Matt Shea appeared to be mending bridges in the local Republican Party.

He attended a meeting of the Republicans of Spokane County and won the group's endorsement. The Republicans of Spokane County is an organization that formed a few years ago among some Republicans concerned that the official Spokane County Republican Party had been taken over by Libertarians and Constitutionalists not dedicated to party unity after the primaries.

Shea, who was an effective leader in the Ron Paul for president campaign, has been outspoken in his criticism of "mainstream Republicans." In the primary, he declined to offer a recommendation for incumbent Republican and nationally recognized GOP leader, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in the race for Congress. For governor, he supported Shahram Hadian over Attorney General Rob McKenna.

At the August meeting, Shea pledged to tell his supporters to back Republicans in the fall and strongly suggested that he would vote for Mitt Romney.

But the endorsement list on his website does not include suggestions for many key races, including for president, Congress, governor and attorney general.

Shea has not returned a call seeking comment.



Jonathan Brunt
Jonathan Brunt joined The Spokesman-Review in 2004. He is the government editor. He previously was a reporter who covered Spokane City Hall, Spokane County government and public safety.

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