Gregoire, Rossi advance in Wash. "top two" primary

Their spots on the November ballot now secure, Democratic incumbent Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi enter the homestretch in their bitter rematch for the governor's mansion.

Round 1 is over. And the fighting's getting even more intense.

With about a third of the expected ballots counted in Tuesday's debut "top two" primary, Gregoire had about 48 percent of the vote, and Rossi about 46 percent. That's a closer race than Democrats would like, particularly after Gregoire's scant 133-vote victory over Rossi in 2004.

As the leading vote-getters, Gregoire and Rossi will be the only candidates listed on the general election ballot. They immediately began making their cases to voters, with Gregoire claiming momentum and Rossi exulting that he was hot on the incumbent's heels.

With a hot presidential campaign leading the ticket in November, Gregoire predicted her lead would only grow.

"I expect Barack Obama to win Washington state, and I expect to be his partner as governor, to bring the kind of results we've achieved in Washington state all across America," Gregoire told The Associated Press.

For his part, Rossi said his message of change would resonate with supporters of Obama, who leads in presidential polls here.

"The reality is that less than half the people who are going to show up at the general (election) voted in the primary. The bottom line is this is going to be a sprint to the end," he told the AP.

The candidates also wasted no time pouncing on each other, each accusing the opponent of low-down, dirty campaign messages that distort the truth.

"It's clear that Christine Gregoire's bitter, angry, combative style of campaigning is going to continue. She's in trouble," Rossi said.

"I hope they've gotten it out of their system and discovered that negative attack ads don't work," Gregoire replied. "I think the public has said, 'Stop it.' Let's start talking about records, let's start talking about results."

Tuesday's primary was the first head-to-head matchup for Gregoire and Rossi since the 2004 election, in which Gregoire won after three ballot counts and an unsuccessful Republican court challenge.

Gregoire and Rossi never faced serious challengers as the top two candidates. But the primary still posed something of a challenge for Gregoire, who needed a fairly clear first-place finish to soothe any doubts about her prospects for re-election. Votes will continue to be counted in the coming days as late mail-in ballots are tabulated.

The primary, which attracts a smaller, more activist electorate than the general election, is an incomplete tool for predicting how the candidates will fare in November. But both campaigns were watching for signs of where they stand with voters as the campaign enters its final phase.

Both sides sought to downplay the results as primary day approached, but they also told supporters the winnowing election would be a key marker of momentum. The candidates also were urging supporters to send more money for their stretch run.

For the candidates, the results are "significant, but it's not critical," said Washington State University political scientist Lance LeLoup.

"For whatever candidate comes in second ... there's plenty of time to reverse that order," LeLoup said Tuesday.

At the polls on Tuesday, Sara Magee, 61, of Seattle, said Gregoire's first term has earned her another shot at the state's top office.

"I think she has worked extremely hard for this state and I think she will continue to do so," Magee said.

But at a polling station in Bellevue, Barbara Moffat, 46, said Gregoire has spent too freely in her first term. Nonpartisan state Senate budget analysts are predicting a $2.7 billion deficit in the next state budget.

"Rossi will bring more control to the government," Moffat said.

Spending by both sides belied their advance pooh-poohing of the results.

Gregoire and her top third-party group, the union-funded Evergreen Progress, spent nearly $2 million combined in the month leading up to the primary - most of it on TV advertising.

Rossi and his supporters at the building industry group It's Time for a Change topped the $2 million mark in the same period.

The Gregoire-Rossi rematch already is the costliest election in state history, with the two candidates raising nearly $16 million combined.

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Associated Press writers Rachel La Corte and Manuel Valdes contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Gregoire: http://www.chrisgregoire.com

Rossi: http://www.dinorossi.com