Ballot returns continue heavy in Spokane and some other Eastern Washington counties.

The party of the president rarely performs well in its first midterm after the election. With Republicans running behind President Donald Trump, supporters of both Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Lisa Brown spoke this week about how his profile is affecting their vote in 2018.

Cost of the proposed carbon fee in Initiative 1631 is subject to debate and dispute.

The fourth-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives is touting a historically proficient record in this Congress, pointing to six legislative actions she’s worked to get signed into law at the federal level. What do those measures do, and how did they come about?

Lisa Brown joined the Washington Legislature in 1993 and rose to the highest level of power in the state Senate. Many of her legislative accomplishments came as the leader of the party in power, and they include changes to insurance coverage for people seeking mental health care, public dollars for construction in Liberty Lake and restoring the Fox Theater.

For many years, Spokane’s 6th Legislative District could be counted on for two things.

Spokane County Elections Office seeing record returns of ballots in early voting.

At the fourth and final debate between Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and her Democratic opponent, Lisa Brown, two different descriptions of 2018 emerged.

Taking the stage for the second time in less than 24 hours, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Lisa Brown met in a public debate Thursday hosted by Spokane Rotary 21. The pair discussed health care, whom they aligned with in their party and took questions written by their opponent.

Washington voters will get a chance in the November election to show their support or opposition to a tax the Legislature imposed on oil being brought to state refineries by pipelines.

In a debate with Democrat Dave Wilson, Republican Jenny Graham correctly said there were more white people than black people on death row and that she supported maintaining the death penalty. Wilson said he had concerns about the sentences being handed out disproportionately, a contention that has been supported by research conducted by the University of Washington.

Washington law has hundreds of exemptions to the Public Records Act that would likely allow legislators to protect sensitive information, attorneys who specialize in media law told a task force.

Maria Cantwell and Susan Hutchison clash on taxes, guns and the Kavanaugh hearings during their first debate.

Voters will notice something familiar about the ballot for the 7th District Senate race – it features the same two women who faced each other in a special election last November. Democrat Karen Hardy is once again running against incumbent Republican Sen. Shelly Short, who was appointed to the position in early 2017 after serving in the House of Representatives since 2008. Short won the special election to keep her seat, taking nearly 68 percent of the vote. The race between the two may not have changed much since then; in the August primary, Short took 67 percent.

A woman has accused a Washington state lawmaker of raping her 11 years ago, saying she was inspired to speak out as she watched the televised allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The lawmaker denied the claim.

A Republican-turned-Democrat and an advocate-turned-politician are vying for an open House seat in what may be Eastern Washington’s only swing district. Republican Jenny Graham views taxes as the single biggest impediment to creating a safer and more just society, and condemns any measure that smacks of a new tax.

In their first public forum for Washington Supreme Court – a forum that at times delved into the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh – Justice Steve Gonzalez and his challenger, Nathan Choi, answered a series of questions from Spokane voters, including how justices can address prison overcrowding, and whether judges at all levels should be elected.

Republican challenger Susan Hutchison has a tough assignment in a campaign against three-term incumbent Sen. Maria Cantwell.