The Times endorses
Murray has earned it

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Murray, a Democrat, has risen to the challenges of being the state's senior senator in part because she doesn't pretend to be a stuffy Washington, D.C., insider. She travels the state, listens to citizens, then hunkers down to get constituents what they need. Murray is our advocate, our senator, our level-headed representative.

Murray votes smart on pocketbook issues, such as sales-tax deductibility, and champions Northwest environmental principles, as evidenced by her work on the Wild Sky Wilderness. And she believes strongly that if someone serves their country, they deserve to be treated well upon return home.

Murray was one of 23 senators who voted against the war in Iraq — in a post-9/11 world, a brave vote that looks wiser each day.

But Murray didn't leave it at one vote or hindsight as 20-20 vision. She voted for the $87 billion to support the troops and war effort. And she worked consistently on behalf of veterans of all wars throughout her Senate career.

In the 1990s, Murray became the first woman on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. Most recently, she fought to keep three veterans health facilities open in Tacoma, Vancouver and Walla Walla. She is working to help families of soldiers in the National Guard and Reserve.

Murray led the way on port security with a program that showed how cargo containers can be tracked from origin overseas to entry into the U.S.

Murray unabashedly brings home the bacon on transportation projects, $700 million in recent years for projects from Walla Walla to Vancouver to Tacoma and Seattle. She is wise about and helpful to the state's leading industries.

Republican challenger George Nethercutt's credentials are no match for Murray's.

When this editorial page endorsed Murray six years ago, we urged her to move beyond apprenticeship mode. She did that. She has taken risks. She has become a leader in the Senate to the benefit of constituents and the region. Patty Murray has earned a third term.