Jim Camden

Church parking lots may not be the most Christian places to be this Sunday. Blame the election. Members of the Christian Coalition may be placing the group's "Voter Guides" on windshields. Members of AFL-CIO unions may be taking them off.

George Nethercutt and Judy Olson spent their sixth and last debate Thursday much like their first one - arguing over what was a cut and what wasn't in the recently completed Congress. But when it came to the issue of education, one of the topics in the forum before the Spokane Downtown Rotary Club, nothing is as simple or quick as the candidates' 30-second commercials or their two-minute debate responses.

1. Ron Taber greets Ellen Craswell in Spokane Wednesday night. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Jeff Kemp headlines the GOP rally.

The presidential race is tightening in Washington and Idaho as voters in the two states continue to support two very different approaches to federal taxes and spending. Washington voters are overwhelmingly more likely to say they want the next president to skip tax cuts and concentrate on balancing the budget, according to a statewide scientific survey conducted late last week. That's a point President Clinton has made for weeks on the campaign trail.

Rep. George Nethercutt's re-election campaign is in many ways a referendum on the first Republican Congress in 40 years. He's proud of what the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Newt Gingrich accomplished in reducing the deficit, cutting waste and reforming welfare. He blames President Clinton for much of what they failed to do.

If term-limit proposals were a sporting event, Initiative 670 would be the rubber match in a best two-out-of-three playoff. There have been two previous proposals to somehow knock long-serving members of the U.S. House and Senate out of their jobs. The first one failed in 1992; the second passed a year later.

Bill Clinton and Bob Dole have paid scant attention to Northwest issues as they've debated and traded long-distance jabs on the campaign trail. They usually stick to their national themes on a balanced budget, a tax cut and welfare reform.

Freshman Rep. George Nethercutt has the edge over Democratic challenger Judy Olson in Eastern Washington's congressional race - in part because voters seem more likely to trust him on one of the campaign's key issues, preserving Medicare. A new scientific survey shows Nethercutt, a former Spokane attorney, with the support of half the voters surveyed in the 5th Congressional District.

1. Vice President Gore loosens up at a Spokane Falls College rally on Monday. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Democrat Sen. Patty Murray, Mayor Jack Geraghty, Council woman Roberta Greene and John Roskelley react to another Gore one-liner at Spokane Falls Community Falls on Monday. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

Two statewide initiatives that allow major changes for public schools are trailing significantly as the Nov. 5 election nears, a new scientific survey suggests. Just over a third of voters in the statewide survey said they plan to vote for school vouchers, while more than half said they planned to vote no on Initiative 173, according to a poll by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research.

George Nethercutt and Judy Olson plowed familiar ground with increasingly sharper rhetoric Sunday in Spokane, sparring over federal programs for seniors and schools. While they were at it, they touched on such diverse topics as the siege at Ruby Ridge and Nethercutt's suburban Washington, D.C., home.

Halloween is several days away, but political partisans are already masquerading as pollsters while they try to sway voters in Eastern Washington's congressional race. Voters in Spokane and Garfield counties say they have been contacted for "push polls," a controversial campaign tactic denounced by both Rep. George Nethercutt and Democratic challenger Judy Olson.

Three weeks of campaigning have done little to change voters' minds about who is best to fill two key state posts, a scientific survey indicates. The race for state insurance commissioner is essentially a dead heat, with nearly a fourth of the voters still trying to decide between incumbent Democrat Deborah Senn and Republican challenger Anthony Lowe.

Republican Ellen Craswell is closing the gap on Democrat Gary Locke as the race for Washington's governor nears the Nov. 5 finish. A new scientific survey of likely voters, conducted Thursday and Friday, shows Craswell gained significant support in the last month, and would outpoll Locke in Eastern Washington if the election were held now. But Locke's substantial lead in the Puget Sound area - where a majority of the state's voters live - keeps him in the lead statewide, according to the survey by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc. "Craswell seems to be bringing some of the Republican vote back into her fold," said Brad Coker, president of the polling firm. "It's a race." A poll taken in early October showed Locke leading Craswell 53 percent to 34 percent. The current poll has that margin cut more than in half - 48 percent for Locke, 41 percent for Craswell. Kathy Mears, a spokeswoman for Craswell, said the results were encouraging. "The polls affect our strategy very little," Mears said. "But this is a tremendous encouragement to our volunteers and supporters." Sheryl Hutchison, a spokeswoman for Locke, said the results confirm what their campaign was saying when the gap was much larger: "This election will be hard-fought all the way." Locke had been considered such an overwhelming favorite that some traditional Democratic contributors had been giving money to other candidates, she said. "Perhaps now, people who believe in Gary will start to take this seriously." The poll - conducted for The Spokesman-Review, KHQ-TV in Spokane and KING-TV in Seattle suggests that both candidates are connecting with a significant number of voters on the issues they highlight in their campaigns. Voters in the survey were asked whether moral and social issues or educational issues are more important to them in making their choice between gubernatorial candidates. Locke talks about improving the state's schools and universities at every campaign stop. Craswell, a Christian and social conservative, often talks about traditional family values. Voters were fairly evenly split, with 47 percent choosing educational issues and 40 percent choosing moral and social issues. "I figured education would be a lot higher," said Coker. "But (GOP presidential nominee) Dole, is hammering on character and those issues cover more ground." The poll showed that nearly half the voters were leery of candidates who can be labeled "religious conservatives." A fourth of the voters said they'd be more likely to vote for such a candidate. That would tend to work against Craswell, if voters are aware of her leanings. But in campaign speeches and literature, the former state senator does not focus on her Christian faith, but on cutting taxes and spending and on strong moral character. "Honesty, integrity, the protection of family values, those things can be appreciated by anyone of any faith," Mears said. Both candidates' names are recognized by almost all the voters, and those polled were slightly more likely to have a positive opinion of Locke than of Craswell. But Craswell's favorability ratings - those voters who say they recognize her name and have a favorable opinion - have actually improved in the last month while Locke's have declined slightly. Hutchison attributed that to television "attack ads" by the state Republican Party that brand Locke as a "tax and spend liberal" and someone who supported a plan to "give self-esteem training to prostitutes." The plan was part of a federally funded program to stop the spread of AIDS among female prostitutes through condoms, counseling and encouraging prostitutes to find other lines of work. "We're disappointed that Ellen Craswell, as a good Christian, hasn't asked (the Republican Party) to stop the ads," Hutchison said.

1. George Nethercutt, Republican 2. Judy Olson, Democrat 3. George Nethercutt, Republican 4. Judy Olson, Democrat

Al Gore

Democrat Gary Locke has a commanding lead over Republican Ellen Craswell in the Washington state governor's race, and a new scientific survey suggests why. Locke's positions on taxes, state spending and growth may be marginally closer to the voters' views, the survey by Mason-Dixon/Political Media Research indicates.

1. Standing up. Floyd Burchett cheers as AFL-CIO national president John Sweeney finishes addressing Tuesday's rally at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. Sweeney sports a button that proclaims "Hi! I'm a Big Labor Boss."

1. Olson 2. Nethercutt

(From For the Record, October 15, 1996): A chart in Monday's paper contained an inaccurate figure. The correct percentage of Washington voters opposed to state funding of a new professional football stadium is 24 percent.

Washington voters would not support a law that allowed people of the same sex to marry, nor do they want the state to outlaw a controversial abortion procedure. The state's gubernatorial candidates each come down on the wrong side of one of these difficult social issues, as far as the voters in a new scientific survey are concerned. Only a fourth of the voters, surveyed last week by Mason-Dixon/ Political Media Research Inc., said they favor the state passing a law that would allow homosexuals to marry. Fewer than three in 10 said they thought the state should outlaw partial-birth abortions, a procedure that Congress tried to ban earlier this year but President Clinton vetoed. Neither result is surprising, said Brad Coker, who conducted the survey for The Spokesman-Review and KHQ-TV. Even in Hawaii, the one state that is close to allowing same-sex marriages, most voters have said they oppose the law, Coker said. "These are warning numbers for any politician," he said. "This can be a wedge issue" that costs a candidate an election in a close race. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gary Locke has said he would sign a bill allowing same-sex marriages. Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen Craswell said she strongly opposes such a law. Abortion has always been a divisive issue, Coker said. "Most voters wish this would get out of politics."

Washington and Idaho voters see the presidential candidates - and some tough financial issues the next occupant of the White House will face - in very different lights. That may be why two new surveys show Democrat Bill Clinton has widened his lead in Washington while Republican Bob Dole has gained ground in Idaho.

Rep. George Nethercutt accused Democratic challenger Judy Olson of being a tool of big labor bosses who are trying to scare his mom. Olson hinted the freshman Republican was a hypocrite for complaining about this year's attack ads after benefitting from a similar onslaught in 1994.

Eastern Washington's congressional race may turn into a million-dollar television war. With Rep. George Nethercutt and the AFL-CIO engaged in a six-figure battle over the actions of the Republican Congress - and the two state parties and several other groups eagerly joining in - the Spokane-based Fifth District is headed for a television spending record.