Despite odds, underdogs want to make it a contest

By Jessica Blanchard and Emily Heffter
Seattle Times staff reporters

TOM REESE / THE SEATTLE TIMES Paul J. Lord, with a truck bed full of campaign signs, is running for Congress in the 9th District.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

It's terribly forgiving to call Paul J. Lord a political underdog. The 34-year-old McDonald's manager has done the math.

By his accounting, to beat four-term Democratic incumbent Adam Smith in Tuesday's election for the 9th Congressional District, Lord would have needed to persuade about 650 voters a day to vote for him — on a budget of about $7,500.

Still, for reasons maybe only other underdogs understand, the Republican newcomer from Lacey, Thurston County, says this: "I'm going to run this as though I'm going to win until the very end."

Each election year, people like Lord, members of a Quixotic clan who can't rely on campaign funding, party backing or name recognition, are somehow moved to file their candidacies. With virtually no shot at winning and with varying combinations of vanity and principle, they run.

Some, like Carol Cassady, a Republican running for a second straight time in the 7th Congressional District against Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, seem to take the trouncings in stride as long as they can rail against the incumbent.

Others point to the longshots who make it as examples of never-say-never encouragement: Patty Murray, in her 1992 run for U.S. Senate, and George Nethercutt, who in 1994 beat then-U.S. Speaker of the House Tom Foley, the first time in 134 years a speaker had been ousted.

Republican Randy Eastwood, a Kirkland real-estate agent running what would seem a campaign of futility against U.S. Rep Jay Inslee in the 1st District, finds hope not so much in political history but his own. He often mentions that although born without a right hand, he won a shoe-tying contest in the fifth grade.

Nationally, as few as 30 congressional races are seen as competitive this year, observers say, so visionary optimists and unrelenting critics obviously abound. Here is a look at some of ours:

District 1 — Jay Inslee (D) vs. Randy Eastwood (R) and Charles Moore (Libertarian)

"I have no delusions," says Libertarian Charles Moore, a 44-year-old software-design engineer.

He knows Inslee enjoys the advantages of incumbency — hearty fund raising and a high profile. So Moore hopes to get voters to simply consider his views: He wants the United States to withdraw troops from overseas; seeks shifts in U.S. foreign policy to combat terrorism; wants to stop providing military and financial aid to foreign governments; and to pursue free trade with other nations.

Inslee opposed the invasion of Iraq and says the United States should not have a permanent military presence there. But he thinks America has a responsibility to the Iraqis to help them stabilize their country.

That position doesn't go far enough for Moore, whose goal is to get enough votes to send a message to the winner.

Moore says his strategy seems to be working.

"I think it's become more palatable on a national level to start making that argument," he said. People can criticize now "and not wind up sounding un-American."

Eastwood entered the race after Metropolitan King County Councilwoman Jane Hague dropped out in February.

He says his platform, which focuses on job creation, national security and a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, will appeal to voters.

Campaign-finance records show Eastwood, who said he has taken a leave of absence from his job to campaign full time, has raised nearly $23,000. Inslee has nearly $1 million in the bank.

District 2 — Rick Larsen (D) vs. Suzanne Sinclair (R) and Bruce Guthrie (Libertarian)

At a recent candidates forum, Libertarian candidate Bruce Guthrie stated what he sees as the obvious: "We all know (U.S. Rep) Rick Larsen is going to win this race."

He meant to encourage voters to cast their votes freely, knowing the race was all but settled.

But the other underdog in the race, Island County Auditor Suzanne Sinclair, a Republican, took offense.

"I don't think it's a done deal," she said.

Larsen, a two-term Democratic incumbent, has raised $1.4 million to Sinclair's $36,000. Guthrie expects to spend less than $2,000.

In 2002, Guthrie, a business lecturer at Western Washington University, got 2 percent of the vote against Larsen.

His long-term goal is finding Libertarians among the disenchanted voters he says are "reluctantly voting for Democrats or holding their nose and voting for Republicans."

Sinclair, on the other hand, says she is running to win. She says tax cuts promoted by President Bush are boosting the economy, and she is critical of Larsen on economic and foreign-policy issues.

"One of the best ways to carry your issues forward is to taken them yourself, so I did," she said.

At first, she said, she viewed being strapped for cash as a disadvantage. Now, she says, if she wins, she owes only the voters.

District 7 — Jim McDermott (D) vs. Carol Cassady (R)

Cassady, a 60-year-old retired teacher, epitomizes the underdog.

Apparently undaunted by her 21 percent showing against McDermott two years ago, she is trying again.

McDermott, first elected in 1988, is certainly embraced by many in the left-leaning district that stretches from Shoreline to Burien. But he also has been controversial. And with a pre-war trip to Baghdad and his appearance in Michael Moore's anti-war film "Fahrenheit 9/11," the congressman is inspiring more ire than ever.

Cassady supports the Iraq war. "Let's not make excuses or try to placate a bully," she says.

Cassady has blasted the congressman as so wrapped up in international affairs that he fails to focus on bread-and-butter issues in the district, such as transportation and taxes.

McDermott has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars more than Cassady, though she is counting on her core group of about 200 volunteers to help even the odds. "And we have a lot of prayers going," she said.

Cassady is using some of her own money to get the word out through lawn signs, brochures and sharply worded radio spots that slam McDermott on topics from gay rights to the Iraq war.

Cassady advocates smaller government, lower taxes and strict interpretation of the Constitution. She also supports amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage.

District 9 — Adam Smith (D) vs. Paul J. Lord (R) and Robert Losey (Green)

In their efforts to unseat Smith, Lord and Green Party candidate Robert Losey are trying to connect with voters in small, personal ways. Their budgets don't allow for much else.

Lord has raised more than $7,500; Smith has nearly 100 times that much. Losey isn't required to file reports on his fund raising because he's collected less than $5,000.

Both challengers have attended numerous public events such as the Puyallup Fair to mingle with voters. Beyond that, they hope to capitalize on whatever name recognition they've earned in their pre-campaign lives. Losey is remembered by longtime residents for working in his grandfather's Renton Auction Barn years ago; Lord says his work as a restaurant manager has helped him meet hundreds of potential voters over the years.

Losey wants to help the Greens achieve major-party status within the state. He's hoping his platform, which includes reforming the elections process, ending the war in Iraq and the war on drugs, and allocating more money for schools, resonates with at least 5 percent of the voters in the district.

Looking back over the last few months of campaigning, Losey said he's had moments of self-doubt, even regret. He wishes he could have taken more time off from his job as a medical laboratory worker to do more door-to-door campaigning, for example.

"It's been a big leap — there are times I feel I've bitten off more than I can chew," he said. "Realistically, my chances are something like 1 in 100.

"But I will be on the ballot," he said. "And who knows what will happen?"

Jessica Blanchard: 206-464-3896 or jblanchard@seattletimes.com

Emily Heffter: 425-783-0624 or eheffter@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More politics headlines...