An incumbent Democratic Governor of a progressive state, enjoying four years of prosperity, should have a lock on re-election. But for some reason Washington State's Democratic governor, Christine Gregoire, finds herself in a tight race with hard-right salesman, Dino Rossi. I will try and explain some of the dynamics, muddled as they are, and request that the netroots community focus some attention on this race.
Christine Gregoire rose to prominence as Washington State's Attorney General. Her performance in that job was not stellar, but then again, the post of Washington State's Attorney General enjoys little power and hence anybody holding that office can pretty much function on cruise control. I was standing next to Gregoire when it was announced that she had been elected State AG. Delighted, she turned to a crowd of us and with a kid's grin, said, "wow, what a ways to go for a small town girl from Eastern Washington!" She was beaming and her delight was infectious.
Fast forward eight years to the election of 2004 and you have an election that makes Florida's elections looks positively forward looking. After a contentious count and recount, Gregoire was declared the winner with less than 200 votes. Rossi raged on about the "stolen election" for months and months. Rossi partisans were fuming. People on the sidelines had some sympathy for Rossi.
Nonetheless, Gregoire went on to preside over four years of economic growth, improvements in social services and the funding of public transportation projects. All good, and supported by a Democratic House and Senate. Unfortunately, the Gregoire that one saw as governor was not the same candidate that had delighted us as Attorney General. Governor Gregoire had a school marm's manner and her pronouncements often sounded shrill, even imperous. Charisma is not one of her assets.
Rossi, a natural salesman comes across, to many voters as calm, even soothing. I would characterize him as unctuous. Rossi has done a masterful job of camouflaging his far-right positions and coming across as something of a moderate. Unfortunately, Rossi is a charter member of the Sarah Palin nutwing club. If elected he will preside over the apportionmnent of Congressional districts, never mind whatever other mayhem he may bring to Washington State and beyond. Seattle is actually the commercial center for Alaska, so as Washington's Governor, he would have close relations with Palin and Alaska's Congressional delegation. Which is to say we can expect the far northwest corner of the country taking on a slightly redder hue.
Obama is going to kick some major A*S in Washington state and I am hoping his coattails pull Gregoire across the finish line. Most current polls show a dead heat. I urge the progressive community to put this on their radar. It would be a shame to lose an incumbent Governor in a blue state when we stand to make gains in red states.
UPDATE: The Seattle Times, never known for incisive political reporting, has endorsed the nutwing Rossi for Governor. Given the tightness of this race, this endorsement definitely helps Rossi. It's very late in the day, but Gregoire can still pull it off, perhaps a nod from Obama will do the trick.