Colleague Betsy Russell at Eye on Boise tells of an election-related savings in Idaho that isn't available in Washington. But even if it was, Washington Republicans would probably be more than happy to put the money in the budget.

As reported here, it seems that Gov. Butch Otter's office was submitting its 2011, which, like the governor's budget in Washington, is mostly staff expenses. There's also $15,000 contingency line item for transition, should Otter not be re-elected and a successor have to take over. (All kinds of campaign slogans come to mind, like "Save 15K with ButchO")

In Washington, the gubernatorial election is still nearly three years off. But Republicans have been out of the governor's mansion for so long that if this comes up in 2012, they'll see it as a worthwhile investment.

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