A Democrat will occupy the governor's office for another four years.

Less than 24 hours after his campaign insisted that their data showed he would eventually win the governor's race, Republican Rob McKenna conceded defeat Friday evening as Washington's ongoing ballot count showed he couldn't close the gap with Democrat Jay Inslee.

“We just realized there wasn't going to be enough of an offset,” Randy Pepple, McKenna's campaign manager and longtime friend, said.

Inslee scheduled a press conference for 6:45 p.m. regarding the concession.

OLYMPIA – Republican Rob McKenna’s campaign insisted he would overtake Democrat Jay Inslee “next week or the week after” as ballot counting continued in Washington’s close gubernatorial race.

But while the percentages improved slightly for Attorney General McKenna, the gap in their vote totals remained about the same – 50,000 more votes for Inslee, the former congressman.

 To read more about this and other close races, or to comment, go inside the blog 

Democrat Jay Inslee has a narrow lead statewide in the race for governor, but Republican Rob McKenna won in Spokane County and the rest of Eastern Washington.

Click here for a look at the statewide map.

For a closer look at the Spokane votes, click on the PDF below.

Documents:

OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire served warning today to her two would-be successors that the budget plans they push on the campaign trail won't work, and they'll need to find some sort of new revenue — usually translated as a tax increase — to balance the budget and meet the demand for better public schools.

At a press conference to announce a new federal waiver that will help the state save money by developing a new program for residents eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, Gregoire said she was looking at a revenue increase for the 2013-15 budget she will propose next month.

Former U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, a fellow Democrat, and Attorney General Rob McKenna, a Republican, both have said they will not raise taxes if they are elected. Gregoire essentially dismissed that talk as standard campaign rhetoric.

“I'm not running for office,” she said. They're candidates and “I'm a realist.”

“I'm telling both candidates I don't know how you can meet your obligations for McLeary without new revenue,” she said, referring to a state Supreme Court ruling that says the state needs to spend more to meet its constitutional requirements to fund basic education.

Inslee has said he can avoid a tax increase, in part, by finding savings in the state budget through the use of better management, known as “Lean” management. But Gregoire has already institute Lean management, and attended a conference earlier this week to discuss the progress made so far. It won't provide enough savings to free up the $1.1 billion needed to meet the needed improvements to public schools in 2013-15, she said, adding that she still supports Inslee, even though she disagrees with him on this.

McKenna is also wrong when he says he can find the money for better schools by capping the growth of other state programs, she said. Many programs aren't scheduled to grow as much as his proposed cap, and when costs go up in some programs, driven by a growing number of children in schools, families on social services or felons in prisons, the state doesn't have the flexibility not to pay.

“When your case load goes up, you have to match it,” she said.

Both candidates have mentioned closing tax loopholes — credits or exemptions offered to certain businesses or industries to stimulate the economy and increase jobs. Gregoire said she said the same thing in 2004, when she was a first-time candidate for governor. But each exemption has a constituency that lobbied the Legislature to approve it, and will fight to keep it.

“You better be ready with a two-thirds vote” in both houses, which is what is currently required for removing any exemptions, she said. 

Gregoire does  have her budget staff reviewing ways to increase state revenues to include in the 2013-15 budget that she will propose later this year. “I have to, as part of my budget, put forth a solution.”

They're looking for something that has the capacity to grow, would be considered fair, and survive a vote of the public, she said.

“I don't know what that is,” she said. “Nothing is off the table.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee is attempting to make points with Spokane voters with a new television commercial that touts his ties to Eastern Washington, and features several local scenes.

Standing on the Cliff Drive overlook to downtown Spokane, Inslee tells viewers “my wife Trudi and I raised our three boys here in Eastern Washington, and as governor, I won't forget about this side of the state.”

Viewers shouldn't assume from thatcombination of comment and background, however, that the Inslees lived in Spokane.

In releasing the commercial, the campaign explained the Inslees raised their sons in Selah, Wash., which is just north of Yakima.

“He represented the region in both the state Legislature and Congress, where he helped open up the Japanese market to Washington apples and worked on the Yakima River Basin Enhancement Act,” the campaign said.

Inslee's legislative district for two terms was the 14th, in and around Yakima. He also served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives for Central Washington's 4th District, not Eastern Washington's 5th District.

He promises to support Spokane's growing aerospace industry and the Riverpointe Campus, where the state is building a new biomedical and health science facility, which also appears in the commercial. But campaign spokeswoman Jaime Smith said the shot of Inslee with factory workers is probably from a Seattle factory.

The state’s campaign watchdog on Monday rejected complaints about contributions and spending by Democrat Jay Inslee.

 Just days before Washington’s voter get their ballots in the mail and just over three weeks before the deadline to mail them back, the Public Disclosure Commission voted unanimously to reject a complaint against Inslee filed by McKenna’s campaign manager, Randy Pepple…

To read the rest of this post, or to comment, go inside the blog.

Washington has too many licenses and permits for business, and doesn't do a good job of making it easy for companies to find out what they need to get them, Rob McKenna said today.

The Republican attorney general running for governor promised to do more to streamline the state's processes for obtaining all that paperwork.
  

To read the rest of this item, or to comment, go inside the blog.

Jay Inslee and Rob McKenna clashed over same-sex marriage, Medicaid and the best way to get more money to the state’s public schools Thursday night.
Each accused the other of ignoring the “will of the voters” when it was convenient. Each claimed the ability to forge bipartisan consensus while contending the other was tainted by their recent government service.
But neither broke completely new ground in a televised gubernatorial debate in Seattle sponsored by most of the city’s television stations.
  

Joe Biden and Paul Ryan aren't the only debate on the schedule tonight for Washington voters.

In a sense, they are the opening act for Jay Inslee and Rob McKenna, who will debate in Seattle at 9 p.m. (Although some people might argue the governor's debate is more like the second movie at the drive-in double feature, the one many people don't bother to stay up to watch all the way to the end. But it's all about personal preferences.)

The debate is such a huge deal in Seattle that it is on most of the city's broadcast stations, and most are supplying a moderator or questioner to the show. In Spokane, KREM-TV is carrying it.

Ryan v. Biden is a 90 minute event, which starts at 6 p.m. local time. McKenna v. Inslee is scheduled for 60 minutes.

Speaking of debates, what is likely to be the only debate of the U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell and Republican challenger Mike Baumgartner occurs Friday, also in Seattle at KCTS-TV, the public television studio. The Spokesman-Review will be there for same day coverage on the web and print coverage the next morning. It will air in Spokane next Tuesday, on KSPS-TV, channel 7.

The folks at KSPS worked mightily to bring a second Senate debate to Spokane, but the Cantwell people have so far only agreed to one debate, total.

There's a precedent for Cantwell agreeing to a late debate in Spokane. That happened in 2000, in her run against incumbent Slade Gorton, when no one was sure until the last minute whether she'd appear at a Rotary-sponsored debate. Her campaign said no, then it said yes, but she almost didn't make it because fog was delaying flights that morning at Spokane International Airport.

If something similar happens this year, it may not appear on the tube. Late commitments are hard to work into a television schedule.

On the eve of Washington's next gubernatorial debate, a video featuring Republican Rob McKenna doing Gangnam style dancing apparently has gone viral.

That's according to Geek Wire which also suggests McKenna may have an edge on capturing the dork vote with his performance at a Global Korean Day celebration in Seattle last weekend.

Not all reviews are positive, however. The candidate's wife, Marilyn McKenna, tweeted that one child says it takes embarassment of one's parents to a whole new level, and another is offering her $10 to never do this again.

McKenna will debate Democrat Jay Inslee at 9 p.m. Thursday in a Seattle meeting that will air on KREM-TV in Spokane, as well as most broadcast stations in Seattle. It will start about an hour after the vice presidential debate and the “post-game” analysis by television talking heads. 

While the Democrats tried their hand at comedy, Republican Rob McKenna tried his feet at dancing last weekend.

Appearing at the Global Korean Day Celebration in Seattle on Saturday, McKenna joined some young dancers on the stage for some Gangnam style dancing. From the video, it would appear that he sometimes substituted some Western style moves for the steps he couldn't quite emulate. From the video, it would also appear that his wife Marilyn (on the other side of the stage) is the one with rhythm.

 Should he lose the November election, will McKenna go for a spot on “Dancing With the Stars”?

One interesting side note: According to The Atlantic, Gangnam style dancing, and its main practicioner, is somewhat subversive, mocking class and wealth in contemporary South Korean society. Of course, the way McKenna is doing it, it may just be a good cardio workout.

Wednesday Update: Geek Wire says the video has gone viral, and suggests McKenna may have locked up the dork vote. Marilyn McKenna tweeted that one child says it takes embarassment of one's parents to a whole new level, and another is offering her $10 to never do this again.

OLYMPIA – Close races mean big spending, and Washington’s gubernatorial race is no exception.

Along with candidates Rob McKenna and Jay Inslee, who have a combined total of $18 million with one month left to raise and spend, outside groups have kicked in another $12 million thus far.

The main sources of independent money are the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association. These are not, as the casual observer might surmise, subdivisions of the National Governors Association, an organization which arranges regular meetings at which state chief executives can, in the words of Oz, hobnob with their fellow wizards.

To read the rest of this post, go inside the blog

 
  

Rob McKenna began his opening statement in Spanish. Jay Inslee talked of “bucking hay” and working to pass a levy to build a local high school.

And while Washington’s two gubernatorial candidates mostly continued long-running arguments over jobs, health care and school funding, Tuesday night’s debate in Yakima at least gave them a chance to air new disagreements over immigration and driver’s licenses.

Appearing before the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce which are meeting in the Central Washington city, state Attorney General McKenna managed a long introductory comment in Spanish about how happy he was to be appearing in front of a group with which he’d previously worked.

Former U.S. Rep. Inslee stuck with a simple “Buenas noches” before mentioning he’d been a farmer, lawyer and legislator in the area.

Despite the new venue, and some new topics, the candidates exhibited some of the same animus. Asked about solutions to the region’s farm labor shortage, Inslee said it would help to have a governor who understood the issue.

“We have to have leaders who won’t use immigration as a wedge issue. One of the parties uses immigration, and the fear of immigration, as a wedge issue,” said the Democratic nominee, who clearly meant the Republicans.

Immigration is primarily a federal issue, McKenna said. If Inslee was really interested in it, “he should’ve stayed in Congress…rather than quitting, halfway through his term.”

Asked whether the state should change current law and only issue driver’s licenses to legal residents, McKenna said yes: “The idea that you can obtain a driver’s license … without proving you’re a legal resident of the country does not make sense.”

Inslee said it should only require that a person applying for a license “is who he says” and lives in Washington. “I don’t think we should make it impossible to drive.”

As usual, they clashed over the possible expansion of Medicaid, which provides health care for low-income residents and could be expanded under the federal Affordable Care Act if the state chooses. It’s a good idea, said Inslee, because the cost of people without health insurance is really a “hidden tax” passed on to people who have insurance. He managed to sneak in a mention that his sons were born at the local hospital.

Treating the expansion like it’s “free money” and growing Medicaid to cover one in three state residents would be a mistake, countered McKenna. “Medicaid is a good safety net, but it is not insurance, it’s welfare,” he said, accusing Inslee of a “Washington, D.C., mentality.”

Both insisted that they would find more money for public schools without raising taxes, although Inslee said McKenna is already suggesting a state increase in the property tax. McKenna replied that’s really a tax “swap” – an accounting maneuver involving state and local property tax levels, suggested by legislators of both parties to comply with a state Supreme Court ruling. It’s Democrats like Inslee who have the record of raising taxes in recent years, McKenna countered.

Democrat Jay Inslee's gubernatorial campaign is all aglow today with President Barack Obama's endorsement of their guy.

Wait a minute. Hasn't Obama been a fan of Inslee's all along. Didn't he wish him well last spring in marking Inslee's departure from Congress to campaign full-time? Didn't he say nice things about Inslee during his May stop at the Paramount Theater in Seattle? 

Yes, but -

“He's been supportive but hasn't officially endorsed,” Inslee campaign spokeswoman Jaime Smith said. “Obama is a very popular figure here, so obviously we're excited to use this.”

The most recent statewide poll we could find, which was the SurveyUSA poll from the beginning of August, had Obama over Romney 54 percent to 37 percent.

In ticket-splitting Washington, some of that popularity might not carry down the ballot into the governor's race. In 2008, Obama beat John McCain by 17 points, but incumbent Gov. Chris Gregoire beat Republican Dino Rossi by 6.5 points. In 2004, John Kerry beat President George W. Bush by 7 points, but Gregoire beat Rossi by .0047 points, after two recounts and a court case.

OLYMPIA — Charter schools would be constitutional in Washington state under the system proposed by this year's ballot initiative, Attorney general and wouldbe governor Rob McKenna said Tuesday.

Answering questions about charter schools during a weekly press conference, which he supports, McKenna dismissed any concerns that the separately established schools would be unconstitutional.

“It clearly is (constitutional) because the schools are public charter schools,” he said. “They are public schools so they are constitutional.”

It wouldn't matter that the commission that would oversee charter operations statewide is appointed, while public school boards are elected, he said. Public universities' boards of regents and trustees are appointed, too, he said.

His Democratic opponent, former U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, has said he opposes charter schools for fear they'd draw limited funds out of the public schools, and will instead expand other innovative programs in schools.

McKenna made his comments during a telephonic press conference that was marked by technological glitches. The candidate and his staff were dialed in to one line, waiting for reporters to call in with questions, for about 15 minutes while reporters were dialed into a separate line, waiting for word that McKenna was present and ready for questions.

On a separate topic, McKenna said he would not “categorically” reject any expansion of Medicaid that's available under the Affordable Care Act, as some Republican governors already in office have vowed to do. But he is concerned that some people who would qualify for Medicaid under the expanded income limits of the act could drop private coverage they now have and apply for government assisted health care, increasing the costs to the state. He also wants to see what the state can afford, how flexible the plans are, he said.

OLYMPIA — Washington's gubernatorial candidates are playing the “look who's endorsing me” game today.

Republican Rob McKenna has an afternoon press conference to announce the latest round of “Democrats for McKenna” names at a Seattle cafe. One can only hope it goes smoother than the campaign's morning telephonic press conference, for which reporters were on one line for about 15 minutes with no McKenna, and the candidate and his staff were on the a different line, with no reporters.

Democrat Jay Inslee's campaign put out a “Rob endorses Jay” announcement. But it's not THAT Rob. Rather, it's Rob Hill, another Democrat who ran for governor in last month's primary. He got 3.22 percent of the vote. On Wednesday, Inslee has a press conference with folks from the clean technology at a Seattle bio-diesel facility. 

VANCOUVER – Washington voters unhappy with their state government won’t see much change unless they stop a 28-year string of Democrats in the governor’s office, the Republican attorney general contended in a debate here Wednesday night.
“I’m not the one who’s been in Olympia for the last seven years,” the Democratic former U.S. representative congressman countered.
In their first debate since the primary, Rob McKenna and Jay Inslee clashed over coal trains, the need for a supermajority on tax increases and the need for light rail on a new bridge over the Columbia River. . .

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Why do you think the two-thirds majority is undemocratic when voters have approved it repeatedly

Inslee: I believe in democracy. It gives people who vote no more power than people who vote yes.

McKenna: Voters are going to have the fourth opportunity, likely to pass it again. He'd be likely to overturn the voters will again. Another example of people in charge of Olympia for years not getting it.

People of this state have the right to decide how they're going to govern.

Rapid fire questions:

Huskies or Cougars: Both Huskies

DB Cooper dead or alive: Both dead

Aplets or Cotlets: Both Applets

Umbrella in rain: No Inslee, Yes McKenna

Clams or Mussels Clams Inslee; mussels, McKenna

Privatize liquor working:

Wazzu vs. Oregon ducks? Both Cougs.

Where do you stand on coal ports

McKenna: The state does not get to stop coal shipments, that's government by federal law. They need to go through strict environmental standards… People in ports are hurting, they're desperate for good-paying jobs, they want these jobs recognizing the projects need to meet strict standards. Wouldn't we rather have these jobs when they're going to come here or go to Canada.

Inslee: There are pluses and minuses. Pluses in the jobs for construction and in the ports. Some minuses from long trains bisecting communities. In Washougal, they're concerned about 2-mile long trains running through town 18 times a day. We need to have a cummulative assessment, up and down the line, and for multiple ports. That is the direction we are going.

McKenna: I agree the transportation impacts have to be analyzed. If the ports are here, we are more likely to get crossing improvements.

Inslee: It's not a slam dunk they'd go to Canada. It costs more money there

Would you be brave enough raise taxes for education?

McKenna: The voters have been very clear on not supporting higher taxes. Not raising tax rates is not the same as raising tax revenues. Revenues are projected to go up. We need to prioritize. (Democrats) running Olympia for the last 28 years haven't directed the increases to education.

Inslee: I have a plan to find a way to get more financial resources for education. We are first in the high-tech jobs that we have, but 46th in production of students to take those jobs. I've focused like a laser beam to get people back to work, that will create revenue.

What about higher education?
Inslee: We need a job creation program to create more resources and have money for colleges. We need to use the Lean Management that businesses use and put them to work in government….and take that money and put it into higher education and K-12.

We need to bring down health care costs or it will “eat us alive.”

McKenna: Talk about higher revenues by having more people employed. But that hasn't happened in Olympia. The people running Olympia have cut funding for higher education and ratcheted up tuition…They've cut the share going to higher education from about 16 percent 20 years ago to about 8 percent today. We need to get back to at least 50-50 (between the state and education.) We need to dedicate more of the state revenue that we have.

Inslee: I've heard my opponent talk about giving money back to education. First time Republicans had control of the Legislature, they cut money out of education… The fact is, as an attorney general, six times in a row, he asked for additional money for his bureaucracy while we were leaning out colleges. As for numbers, we are going to do hundreds of millions of dollars on lean

McKenna: I did not support their education cuts. I called Republican leaders and said any cuts to education would be wrong. When we asked for more money it was for work the Legislature had asked us to take on.