Sutherland Exits Republican Race Pierce County Hopeful Says Price Too High; Clears Way For A Smith, Murray Showdown

Moderate Republican Doug Sutherland on Friday departed the U.S. Senate race, apparently clearing the way for U.S. Rep. Linda Smith to win the party nod to face freshman Democratic Sen. Patty Murray this fall.

Sutherland, the top elected official in Pierce County, the state’s second-most-populous county, said it was a painful decision, but that he had concluded that financing and support were not materializing and that a campaign would take too much time away from his county job.

“I know there is a real opportunity here, but the price was going to be too high, not just in terms of money, but in time,” he said.

Sutherland said he had raised about $60,000 since announcing his candidacy in September - a tiny fraction of the money raised by both Smith and Murray.

He said he had hoped to wage a winning primary campaign by spending 40 percent of his waking hours on the trail. But it quickly became clear that it would take a full-time effort to have any hope of beating Smith.

Sutherland had been widely seen as Smith’s only obstacle before the September primary. He had pitched himself as a centrist who could draw votes from people who don’t like Murray’s liberal voting record or Smith’s conservatism.

No other GOP challengers have stepped forward, despite endless speculation.

Party luminaries, including U.S. Reps. Jennifer Dunn, George Nethercutt and Rick White, as well as commentator John Carlson, have declined to run. Carlson made his announcement earlier this week on his KVI-Radio talk show.

Christopher Bayley, a former King County prosecutor, has told friends he is considering the race. Sutherland said he continues to hear speculation that another candidate will jump in, but said the hour is growing late.

Sutherland, a founder of the moderate Mainstream Republicans of Washington and a backer of abortion rights, said he has not decided whether to endorse Smith or anyone else in the GOP primary. He said a large number of Republicans’ views are not represented by Smith, an abortion foe who has a wide following.

The Senate race has been rated by both parties as one of the most competitive in the nation. Republicans are trying to pad their 55-45 majority, and Murray is vulnerable because she’s too liberal for the centrist state, Majority Leader Trent Lott said during a visit to Seattle last summer.

Murray steadfastly refuses to comment on the Republican primary, saying she cares only about the November final.

Smith was vacationing in Mexico on Friday. Her campaign manager, Scott Hildebrand, reached in San Diego, said Sutherland’s departure comes as a mild surprise.

“We have always expected that there would be another Republican in the race, and we thought it would be Doug to the finish line,” he said. “We expect Linda to win the nomination (in September), and our focus has always been on winning in November.”