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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Olympia

Supremes’ races poll: incumbents leading, some barely…

SurveyUSA, in poll sponsored by Seattle's KING TV, found that incumbent Justice Susan Owens is well in the lead in the five-way race for her seat. In a poll of 279 likely primary voters, the firm found 28 percent favoring Owens, while the four other contenders (all men) drew 9 percent to 11 percent each. But Owens is nowhere near the 50 percent margin she'd need to effectively win the race in the primary. Instead, it looks like voters will pick between two candidates in November.

The other two Supreme Court races will almost certainly be decided in the primary. They are:

Seat 8: Incumbent Chief Justice Gerry Alexander drew 36 percent support from those polled, while challenger John Groen drew 32 percent.

Seat 9: Incumbent Justice Tom Chambers seems to have a slight edge over challenger Jeanette Burrage. Chambers got 41 percent support; Burrage got 32 percent.

These results come with a caveat, though: The poll is based on an unusually small number of likely voters: 279 people. As a result, the margin of error -- plus or minus 6 percent -- is unusually high.



Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.