Kerry runs modest race Washington

Sen. John Kerry is working, but not too hard, to keep Washington state in the Democratic column.

The Democratic presidential candidate has visited the state just three times and is not airing television commercials, relying on the Democratic National Committee to run a modest ad campaign. So far, that’s been enough to keep the state leaning his way.

Four years ago, Democrat Al Gore defeated George Bush in Washington state by nearly 6 percentage points. Kerry’s lead appears to be nearly as comfortable as Gore’s final tally, according to state experts as well as advisers for both Kerry and the president.

“His lead has come down a bit from its high point a few weeks ago, when he was up 10 to 12 percentage points,” said Tim Hibbitts, a pollster in Oregon who surveys voters in both West Coast battlegrounds.

Bush is making his case in the state with a modest advertising buy, hoping to force Kerry to shift resources from GOP-leaning tossup states such as Nevada and West Virginia to defend Democratic turf. Bush could win Washington state, Hibbitts said, but only if he’s easily defeating Kerry nationwide.

The state has become slightly more Democratic in recent elections, partly because of the influx of high-tech workers who tend to be a bit more liberal than blue-collar employees. The state’s libertarian streak makes some voters open to the Republican anti-tax drive but leery of GOP positions on social issues.