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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Murray expands lead over Rossi

Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Democratic incumbent Patty Murray has expanded her lead over Republican challenger Dino Rossi in the latest Washington state Senate vote totals. With about two-thirds of the expected ballots counted Wednesday, Murray leads Rossi with about 51 percent to 49 percent of the vote. Her margin is about 26,000 votes out of more than 1.5 million counted so far in unofficial returns. Officials predicted statewide turnout of about 2.4 million, and thousands of ballots still remain uncounted. Washington’s vote-by-mail system leads to long vote counts because ballots can be submitted through Election Day. County officials were expected to release more vote totals throughout Wednesday night.