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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Otter in Bellevue, Oregon results: Wassup May 19

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter travels West today. He's the featured speaker at the Jennifer Dunn Leadership Institute's first annual fundraising dinner at the Bellevue Hilton. The institute is a sort of training ground for young conservative leader prospects, and Otter is likely to get a warm welcome despite recent efforts to grab businesses from Washington. Republicans, after all, think Butch was doing it for the right reasons.

Oregon had a primary last night that generated exponentiallyl less interest nationally than some other states. In the governor's primary, former Gov. John Kitzhaber easily won the Democratic nomination and Chris Dudley, a former NBA center,  finished on top of a crowded GOP race.Incumbent Democrat Ron Wyden had no trouble in the U.S. Senate primary, and Jim Huffman, a former law professor,  topped the Republican field.

One interesting stat: Oregon's turnout in its all-mail balloting was 41 percent. (Unlike Washington, Election Day is the final deadline for having ballots in elections officials' hands.) Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown notes that exceeds turnout in three states with high-profile races, Kentucky which is at 33 percent, Arkansas 25 percent and Pennsylvania at 22 percent.

Since it is an otherwise slow day, here's a look at what talking head political commentary on cable television might come to, brought to you by Onion News Network.




The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.