The northeastern Washington legislative faceoff between longtime legislative aide Shelly Short and architect Sue Lani Madsen is looking a lot like a grudge match.

Short got slightly more votes in the primary than Madsen: 26.7 percent to 26.4 percent in a five-way, all-Republican primary. Both are well-known: Madsen ran in 2004, losing to state Rep. Joel Kretz, and Short has spent the last 14 years as the local contact to members of Congress and Kretz.

Just days before the Aug. 19th primary, Short's husband, Mitch Short, was charged with aggravated first-degree theft. Amid mounting family debts, he allegedly stole more than $3,000 from a local fair organization he headed. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In fundraising letter to supporters last week, Shelly Short claimed victory in the primary, briefly addressed the fair controversy and lambasted Madsen as a stealth liberal.

"The vicious attacks on my husband, Mitch, came as a complete surprise," she wrote, saying that she's confident he'll be exonerated. "I hope and pray that you will keep faith in us."

Short blasted Madsen for accepting campaign contributions from "Westside, pro-choice, environmentalist supporters. Those supporters have also given tens of thousands of dollars to (the) likes of Christine Gregoire, Gary Locke, Naral Pro-Choice Washington, Emily's List, Moveon.org, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton to just name a few."

Madsen scoffs at that.

"Apparently I'm on speaking terms with Obama and Biden, too," she said. "It's just so outrageous it's silly."

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