Governor
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Democrat Inslee will be Washington governor
OLYMPIA — Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna is conceding defeat.
McKenna aides still confident of victory
OLYMPIA – Republican Rob McKenna’s campaign insisted Thursday he would overtake Democrat Jay Inslee “next week or the week after” as ballot counting continued in Washington’s close gubernatorial race. But after Thursday’s counts the gap in their vote totals remained about the same: 54,000 more votes for Inslee.
Same-sex marriage backers celebrate
With ballot counts continuing around Washington, supporters of same-sex marriage claimed victory Wednesday, saying their projections convince them Referendum 74 will pass. While they collected congratulations from the measure’s chief backers in the state Capitol, opponents said they weren’t ready to concede that Washington would join the small but growing list of states that allow same-sex marriage.
Inslee out front as count goes on
Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Rob McKenna will continue their battle for the job of Washington’s chief executive for at least another day. Ballots tallied Tuesday night gave Inslee a lead of about 50,000 votes out of 1.8 million counted, leaving the race too close to call. With as many as half of the ballots still to be counted, Inslee has 51.3 percent of the votes to McKenna’s 48.7 percent. McKenna leads throughout Eastern Washington, including Spokane, where he has nearly 19,000 more votes than Inslee. But Inslee is leading in King County and most other counties that touch Puget Sound. Both were confident of eventual victory.
Last-minute election push is on
With five days left until Election Day, campaigns are shifting their focus from policy arguments to pleas for action. Candidates, meanwhile, are crisscrossing the state to make their final pitches.
Inslee reports negative cash balance
OLYMPIA – Democrat Jay Inslee has burned through his campaign cash, as Washington state’s competitive race for governor enters the final week. Inslee reported in disclosure filings that he had a negative account balance of about $50,000 as of Monday. Campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford said Wednesday that the campaign still has cash to spend after raising $60,000 on Tuesday, with more coming in. And he noted the campaign has already paid for ads through Election Day.
McKenna’s free travel studied
SEATTLE – Washington’s Republican candidate for governor, Rob McKenna, has spent a lot of time as attorney general traveling on other people’s dime, the Seattle Times reported Sunday. The newspaper said McKenna accepted nearly three times as many privately paid trips and event tickets over the past seven years as his predecessor, Gov. Chris Gregoire, did during her last eight years as attorney general.
Gregoire says successors’ budget proposals won’t work
OLYMPIA – Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire served warning Thursday to her two would-be successors that the budget plans they’re pushing 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 news conference to announce a 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.
Gregoire says successor will need to raise taxes
OLYMPIA — The next governor will have to raise taxes, regardless of what they promise on the campaign trail, Gov. Chris Gregoire predicted today. The budget she proposes for the next two years will have some kind of “revenue increase”.
Inslee makes ad touting connections to East Side
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 Cascades.”
Spin Control: Times political ads might not be money well spent
OLYMPIA – The biggest news in the state’s political campaigns last week probably was not made by a politician or group working for or against a ballot measure. Instead, it was made by the Seattle Times Co., with a decision to run a full-page ad in support of Republican Rob McKenna’s gubernatorial bid, at no cost to the McKenna campaign.
Inslee campaign cleared by state panel
OLYMPIA – The state’s campaign watchdog rejected complaints about contributions and spending by Democrat Jay Inslee while a small-business group tried to boost Republican Rob McKenna’s chances for governor Monday. Just days before Washington voters 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.