Gregoire clings to slim lead in governor's race

By Ralph Thomas
Seattle Times Olympia bureau

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As the vote tallies trickled in, the governor's race was shaping up to be one of the closest in decades.

With more than a third of the ballots counted statewide, Rossi was leading in more than half of Washington's 39 counties, but that advantage was being offset by Gregoire's commanding lead across much of the Puget Sound area.

But the largest stacks of uncounted ballots were in King and Snohomish counties, which appeared to be two of Gregoire's strongholds.

It's become a traditional pattern for Democrats running statewide. In the 2000 U.S. Senate race, for instance, Democrat Maria Cantwell upset incumbent Republican Slade Gorton by winning just King and three other counties.

Tonight, both campaigns were sticking to the "cautiously optimistic" line.

The winner of the Gregoire-Rossi race will replace Democratic incumbent Gov. Gary Locke, who announced more than a year ago he would not seek a third term.

Rossi was hoping to end a long losing streak for the Republicans.

Democrats have won five straight elections and controlled the governor's office for 20 years, the longest reign ever for either party. The last Republican elected governor was John Spellman, in 1980.

Since then, the GOP nominee topped 47 percent of the vote just once. The last two elections were routs, with Locke winning by nearly 60-40 margins both times.

Gregoire, 57, is in her third term as attorney general. Prior to that, she spent four years as head of the state Department of Ecology.
 
Rossi, 45, served seven years in the state Senate and gained prominence last year as chairman of the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee. He stepped down last fall to run for governor, partly at the urging of President Bush.

Gregoire qualified for yesterday's ballot by trouncing King County Executive Ron Sims in September after a bruising Democratic primary. Rossi faced no significant opposition in the primary.

This year's race was by far the most expensive in state history.

The previous fund-raising record for the top two candidates was $6.5 million raised in 2000 by Locke and his Republican challenger.

As of yesterday, Gregoire and Rossi together had raised more than $12 million in direct donations. On top of that, special-interest groups- most of them from out of state - spent more than $6 million on the race.

Gregoire and Rossi both ran campaigns aimed at appealing to moderate "swing" voters.

Both candidates spent much of their time talking about improving the state's business climate and creating new jobs. And both said pumping up the state's economy, not raising taxes, is the answer to troubles in education, health care and transportation.

Hoping to capitalize on voter discontent with state government, both candidates promised to shake things up in Olympia.

Gregoire promised repeatedly to "blow past the bureaucracy" and Rossi said his top priority would be to rein in burdensome government regulations.

Both candidates talked in broad terms about improving everything from education to transportation, but didn't offer a lot of specifics. As yesterday's election drew closer and polls showed the race tightening, the two sides stepped up their attacks against each other.

Gregoire and her Democratic allies worked hard to paint Rossi as a right-wing extremist, pointing out his stand against abortion and his conservative voting record in the state Senate. They hammered Rossi for his proposal last year to eliminate Medicaid coverage for an estimated 40,000 children.

And the Democrats pounced when The Seattle Times revealed Rossi's close ties during the 1980s to a commercial real-estate executive who went to prison for defrauding investors.

Rossi, meanwhile, accused Gregoire of being part of an Olympia status quo that he blames for most of the state's problems - such as soaring health-care costs and high unemployment.

Rossi and his supporters also aired several television ads reminding voters about some of Gregoire's biggest gaffes as attorney general. In 2000, for instance, her office missed the deadline to appeal an $18 million jury award against the state.

Gregoire gained national recognition as a leader in the 1998 legal settlement between 46 states and the tobacco industry.

Rossi, who worked for two decades in commercial real estate, served seven years in the state Senate before stepping down last fall to run for governor.

He gained prominence in Olympia last year for the major role he played in fixing a record $2.7 billion budget shortfall.

If current trends continue, Washington's next governor will ride into office on an improving economy and falling unemployment rate.

But the state still faces a shortfall in the next two-year budget cycle that could top $1 billion.

Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882 or rthomas@seattletimes.com.