After Christine Gregoire won her last race against Dino Rossi by 134 votes statewide, many of us were extremely nervous about the rematch. But there’s one big difference this time. At the head of the ticket is Barack Obama, not John Kerry. And Gregoire endorsed Obama (a gutsy move at the time since he wasn’t yet the frontrunner) early in the campaign, which may be paying off now in the minds of Obama voters:
Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire leads Republican Dino Rossi by six percentage points in the latest Washington Poll, getting a boost from her ties to Democratic presidential candidate Sen Barack Obama, pollsters say.
Washington voters back Obama over Republican Sen. John McCain by a wider margin — 55 percent to 34 percent. They also are inclined to pass Initiative 1000, which proposes to make Washington the second state in the nation to allow assisted suicide.
Those are key findings Monday from the Washington Poll
During the entire campaign she’s either been behind or virtually tied. This is the first poll that shows her distinctly ahead. All I can say is: thank God. The idea of having Dino Rossi sellling off Washington piecemeal to the developer/building industry, which is funding his campaign to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, is revolting. This is beautiful country that needs to be preserved, not developed willy nilly as Rossi would do.
The Gregoire/Rossi contest has been playing out almost like the presidential campaigns. Rossi’s television spots blame the incumbent for the national economy, all crime ever, and specifically, the price of gasoline. A public referendum, promoted heavily by Republicans at the time, and NOT a governmental decree is why gasoline here has a targeted sales tax, adding considerably to its cost. He has no platform, his ads are purely accusation and fear-mongering. The smarmy delivery and refusal to look directly at the camera in his first person ads has been so badly received, that they have been pulled. His latest last-minute attack ad shows a baby with a full diaper. While excretory saxophone sound effects play, adults wrinkle up their noses in disgust. A narrator helpfully clues us in that if we don’t want our state to smell bad, we must not vote for the incumbent.
Gregoire has been helped by the ineptness of her opposition.