GOP aims to ride in with gubernatorial candidate Rossi in the fall

SPOKANE — Common sense would tell you it's a bad year to be a Republican politician.

The GOP is saddled with an unpopular Republican president, an unpopular war in Iraq and a troubled economy. Add in rising prices for food and gas, "and you've got a disaster brewing," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

Yet Republicans in Washington state contend they've got something to buffer their candidates — Dino Rossi, the party's candidate for governor.

"He's the candidate who most inspires our grass roots and will most inspire people to get out and vote," state GOP Chairman Luke Esser said.

That was true among the throng of button-festooned GOP delegates waiting in line Friday morning to hear Rossi and other candidates address the party's state convention.

"I think Rossi can carry it despite the national backlash against the Republican Party," said Denise Sherman, of Port Orchard. "I think the turnout in Washington will be strong for Rossi because most Republicans feel like it [the last election] was snatched away."

Rossi lost to Gov. Christine Gregoire in 2004 by only 133 votes, after two recounts and a long court fight.

The theory: Rossi will generate a large Republican turnout and when people vote for him, they'll continue down ballot and vote for other Republicans as well.

Rossi has his work cut out.

Republicans have steadily lost ground in Washington in recent years. In addition to holding the governor's office, Democrats now have large majorities in both the state House and Senate.

House Republicans are in particularly bad shape. They haven't gained any seats since 1994 and now are at their lowest ebb in 14 years with 35 seats, compared to 63 for Democrats. In the Senate, Democrats hold a 32-17 majority.

And although Rossi came close to beating Gregoire in 2004, the last Republican to hold the governor's office in Washington was John Spellman, elected in 1980.

As Sabato notes, Gregoire this election "has got the great advantage of being a Democratic incumbent, running in a Democratic state, in a Democratic year."

Polls lately have shown Rossi trailing by varying margins, although Republican officials argue the candidates are essentially tied.

Gregoire also has led in fundraising. The latest state records show she's raised about $6 million compared with $4.4 million for Rossi.

GOP leaders are clearly trying to get the party faithful lined up behind Rossi's campaign. It's a Rossi-centric convention with speakers, from members of Congress on down, stressing the importance of his candidacy.

For his part, Rossi said he can help down ballot races by driving people to the polls. But in the end it comes down to the quality of the candidates, who are free to use the ideas put out by his campaign, he said

He laid out his message Friday to a boisterous crowd that gave him several standing ovations and interrupted his speech by chanting: "Dino! Dino!" His relaxed style of speaking went over well. He was the only candidate to get that kind of reception.

The message was a familiar one from Rossi — Democrats have been in power too long, spend too freely and have failed to address the state's most pressing problems, including crime and traffic congestion.

"Here's what I want to see happen in the state of Washington," Rossi said. "I want it to be the worst place in America to be a criminal and the best place to start a business."

He urged the crowd to get out the vote and keep going down ballot after voting for him.

"There are a whole lot of folks out there who last time didn't think I had a prayer, so they didn't do anything," Rossi said, referring to his narrow loss in the 2004 election. "They've been kicking themselves ever since."

State House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt of Chehalis, who spoke after Rossi, put the stakes in blunt terms. Democrats, he said, are only a few seats shy of holding supermajorities in both houses and the GOP cannot afford to lose more seats.

"Down ballot is what's killing us folks," he told the crowd. "We lose interest. We've got to go down the ballot. Dino needs a Legislature behind him."

Even if Rossi is popular among Republicans, that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be able to help candidates down the ballot, said Todd Donovan, a political-science professor at Western Washington University.

"He might help Republican turnout, but it's not the Republicans that Republicans have to worry about. It's the independent voters," he said. "They'll be voting on the economy and the general national mood. It's hard to see how a gubernatorial candidate can trump that."

Rep. Cary Condotta, R-Wenatchee, said in a recent interview that Republicans don't need much to declare victory this election. At least in the state House.

"It's been since 1994 that we've gained a seat," said Condotta, who co-chairs the House Republican Organizational Committee, the campaign arm for the GOP caucus. "If we get one seat up, we've turned it around. It's a silly little goal, but it has quite an impact."

Andrew Garber: 360-943-9882 or agarber@seattletimes.com