Bush confirmed for Spokane visit

Sat., June 12, 2004

By Benjamin Shors benjamins@spokesman.com

The White House confirmed Friday that President Bush will visit Spokane next Thursday to attend a fund-raiser for U.S. Senate challenger George Nethercutt.

The president will speak at a $1,000-per-person dinner for the Spokane Republican, who is challenging Democratic incumbent Patty Murray for the U.S. Senate seat.

The following day, Bush will speak to troops in Fort Lewis, Wash., a White House spokesman said Friday.

Few details have emerged about the dinner, which will be held at the Ag Trade Center in downtown Spokane.

The visit marks Bush’s second swing through Washington in the past year. Last August, Bush spoke at a hydroelectric dam on the Snake River, defending his administration’s controversial plan to boost salmon numbers. The federal government has since decided to count hatchery-raised fish when determining salmon population levels, a move that could end Endangered Species Act protection for the fish.

Bush has campaigned in both Washington and Oregon, two crucial states that he lost by narrow margins in the 2000 presidential election.

Nethercutt supporters hope the president’s visit can boost his campaign battle with Murray, who has raised nearly three times more money than her Republican challenger thus far. But Nethercutt’s office pointed out that among Senate challengers, he was the leading fund-raiser in the fourth quarter of 2003.

“The President is coming here first because he’s impressed with my campaign’s early momentum,” Nethercutt said in a news release. “The President is committed to our winning this Senate race. He sees the momentum we’ve gathered since we started this campaign. A Presidential visit now will help us sustain our momentum and build on our early success.”

A spokeswoman for Murray said the visit was an attempt to revive a flagging Nethercutt campaign.

“There is no momentum,” said spokeswoman Alex Glass. “Nethercutt has been in this race for a year-and-a-half, he’s spent thousands of dollars, and his numbers haven’t moved.”

In Spokane County, donations in the past year have been overwhelmingly Republican, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. County residents have poured more than $1 million into election races, with 81 percent of the money going to Republicans and just 19 percent to Democrats.

Spokane Police refused to comment on the president’s visit, stating only that they would provide support services to the U.S. Secret Service. The president’s motorcade is expected to shut down parts of Interstate 90, but the precise route has not yet been determined.

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