Washington state megathread

[Seattle]

lol. goodspaceguy. I'd vote for him

[bgwah]

Reardon is also leading Hope 53-46 right now for Snohomish County Executive. A Reardon win is good for Democrats who do not want Hope in a better position to run for statewide office some day...

[Meeker]

Reardon is also leading Hope 53-46 right now for Snohomish County Executive. A Reardon win is good for Democrats who do not want Hope in a better position to run for statewide office some day...

This is the most important race this year IMO... not only would Hope losing deprive the Republicans of a future statewide candidate (for now at least) but the fact that an incumbent Democrat is able to hold on in Snohomish County bodes well for us in 2012.

Reardon is also a potential statewide candidate for our side so him holding on is good in that sense as well.

[bgwah]

Why are they even having a primary if there are only two candidates?

[Meeker]

Why are they even having a primary if there are only two candidates?

Partisan offices follow the top-two primary law... and the top-two primary law says that all partisan offices have to appear on the primary ballot.

The only impact it has officially is that whomever finishes first in the primary gets their name printed on the ballot first in the general.

[bgwah]

Why are they even having a primary if there are only two candidates?

Partisan offices follow the top-two primary law... and the top-two primary law says that all partisan offices have to appear on the primary ballot.

The only impact it has officially is that whomever finishes first in the primary gets their name printed on the ballot first in the general.

Oh, I forgot only silly King County switched to non-partisan elections...

[Meeker]

Why are they even having a primary if there are only two candidates?

Partisan offices follow the top-two primary law... and the top-two primary law says that all partisan offices have to appear on the primary ballot.

The only impact it has officially is that whomever finishes first in the primary gets their name printed on the ballot first in the general.

Oh, I forgot only silly King County switched to non-partisan elections...

I'm not a fan of non-partisan elections by any means, but the switch may be what allows you guys to ditch Jane Hague this year.

[Meeker]

Here's a sign of how little people pay attention to local politics: In a race for Puyallup School Board this month, one of the candidates - Dane Looker - dropped out of the race after deciding to run for the State House next year instead. However, he dropped out of the race after the ballots had already been printed.

Current results have him receiving 40% of the vote, only 0.5% behind the first place finisher.

[RI]

I voted for Reardon, fyi, though Mike Hope is a pretty good guy, despite ripping off Obama's signs.

[bgwah]

I voted for Reardon, fyi, though Mike Hope is a pretty good guy, despite ripping off Obama's signs.

It took me a couple of drives through Snohomish County before I realized what the heck those were.

[RI]

I voted for Reardon, fyi, though Mike Hope is a pretty good guy, despite ripping off Obama's signs.

It took me a couple of drives through Snohomish County before I realized what the heck those were.

He used pretty much the same signs in 2008 and 2010 as well, when he was running for the legislature.

[Meeker]

For some reason Mike Hope has a national debt counter on his website.

[RI]

Anyone want to do a Washington quiz? We can't let Connecticut and Pennsylvania have all the fun?

[bgwah]

Anyone want to do a Washington quiz? We can't let Connecticut and Pennsylvania have all the fun?

Yes, please make it. That why I can take the quiz.

[RI]

Anyone want to do a Washington quiz? We can't let Connecticut and Pennsylvania have all the fun?

Yes, please make it. That why I can take the quiz.

I'm sure you or Alcon could probably make a better quiz as you guys know more details of Washington political history than I do, but here's one I slapped together pretty quickly:

ELECTED OFFICIALS
1.Who is Washington's current governor?
2. When was the current governor first elected?
3. Which position did the current governor hold prior to becoming governor?
4. Who was the only Washington governor to serve three terms?
5. Who is the longest serving current US House of Representatives member from Washington?
6. The Washington Legislature is made up of how many Senators and Representatives?
7. Who is the current Speaker of the Washington House of Representatives?

GENERAL TRIVIA
8. How many counties does Washington have?
9. What is the newest county in Washington?
10. Who is the only major third party candidate to win statewide in Washington (not including Fusion candidates)?
11. Which is the only reliably Republican county west of the Cascades?
12. Which is the most Democratic of the San Juan Islands?
13. Which major island is famously divided between a highly Democratic southern end and a highly Republican northern end?
14. The heavily Republican enclave in northern Whatcom County is most likely due to what factor?

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES
15. Which favorite son candidate twice won Washington presidential caucuses?
16. Which county most strongly went to Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary?
17. Which one county voted for Ross Perot as a write-in in both the 1992 Democratic and Republican presidential primaries?
18. Which one county did Al Gore win in the 1988 Democratic presidential caucus?
19. Which candidate in 1988 won Washington for their only state victory in the contiguous US?
20. Which three counties were won by John Anderson in the 1980 Republican presidential caucus?

PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTIONS
21. Who was the last third party candidate to win a county in a Washington presidential election, and in what year?
22. Which county in Washington has currently gone the longest without voting Republican in presidential elections, and when did it last go R?
23. Which county in Washington has currently gone the longest without voting Democratic in presidential elections, and when did it last go D?

[bgwah]

1. Gregoire
2. 2004
3. Attorney General
4. ERROR: There are two. Langlie and Evans, though only Evans' were consecutive.
5. Dicks
6. 49 and 98
7. Chopp

8. 39
9. Uh oh, first one I'm not 100% sure on. I know it was founded in 1911 and is in the NE---Ferry or Pend Oreille. Lean Pend Oreille, since Ferry might have been named after Governor Ferry a bit earlier.
10. Is this a trick question? I'm thinking it must be Roosevelt in 1912.
11. Lewis.
12. Waldron.
13. I'm not sure I'd call it "famous," but presumably Whidbey Island.
14. Lynden, a Dutch Christian enclave ala Sioux County, IA.

15. Jackson
16. Cowlitz...? (second I'm not sure of)
17. I don't know... this is your specialty! I'll guess Skamania just because they're wacky like that.
18. Again, I don't know. I don't even have a good guess. He was kind of a conservative Democrat back then, right? (Rick Perry supported him!) I'll just blindly guess Asotin.
19. Robertson
20. I don't know. Probably Jefferson and San Juan, I'll have to just guess on the third and say Clallam.

21. Probably LaFollette in 1928.
22. I think the answer is Grays Harbor... I know GH/Pacific both turned Dem in 1932, and one barely voted for Eisenhower, so I'm not positive which one it is, but Grays Harbor seems right.
23. Uh oh. Well, I believe Whitman, Adams, and Lincoln were the only ones to vote Goldwater, so one of those 3. Whitman voted for Obama so we can eliminate that. I think the answer is Adams, I made a chart once, and I remember Adams. What year though, I do not recall. But since I know FDR won all 39 counties in 1936, I will say 1940.

[Meeker]

I pretty much know all the ones bgwah got and don't know all the ones he didn't get except 17 - it's San Juan.

[bgwah]

I had this chart in the back of my mind when I answered #23:

It shows how long counties have voted the same as each other:



I'm gonna work on an updated version to include 2008 now.

[redcommander]

I had this chart in the back of my mind when I answered #23:

It shows how long counties have voted the same as each other:



I'm gonna work on an updated version to include 2008 now.

It's hard to believe King County was at one time a Republican stronghold.

[RI]

bgwah got all of them except the one Meeker got and numbers 18 and 20 (and number 21, as Follette ran in 1924 not 1928 ), the last of which wasn't a very fair question since it's not something you can find on the internet. I can tell you the answers though unless anyone else wants to guess.

[bgwah]

Meeker just cheated and copies my answers, as far as I'm concerned. Therefore I win! And yes please tell me the answers.

[RI]

For number 18, Gore won Benton County in 1988. The Tri-Cities seem to have a habit of being contrary in Democratic presidential races; Benton and Franklin were the only counties in 1984 to go for Mondale. For number 20, I realized after I posted it that the question might not actually be accurate, as I don't have complete results for the 1980 R caucus, but the answer I was looking for was King County, Thurston County, and Kitsap County. Those are the only three I've seen reported as going for Anderson, but I'm not actually sure about San Juan or Jefferson. I need to go find an old Port Angeles/Port Townsend newspaper or something to know for sure.

[bgwah]

I'm bored. I want some polls.

[bgwah]

I forgot to check Whatcom County's primary elections. Did the Democrats fail to make the general for county exeuctive? Epic fail for a lean D county. Like, pathetic, really.

[redcommander]

I forgot to check Whatcom County's primary elections. Did the Democrats fail to make the general for county exeuctive? Epic fail for a lean D county. Like, pathetic, really.

Woah. How did Democrats allow that to happen? Yep the county will now have the choice between a Tea Party conservative, and a slightly more moderate one.