Washington state megathread

[RI]

Alcon, would it be possible to do precinct maps from some of the counties Didier did well in? Perhaps Benton (especially), Franklin, Adams, and maybe Grant?

Also, I would be quite interested in the results of the WA-02 primary. Koster won the more Democratic counties of Whatcom and Snohomish, but Larsen won the more Republican counties of Island and Skagit.

[RI]

Final numbers for the federal races:

Senate
Patty Murray (D): 46.2%
Dino Rossi (R): 33.3%
Clint Didier (R): 12.8%
Paul Akers (R): 2.6%
Assorted others: 5.1%

Time for bgwah to update this page.

[RI]

I'll probably vote the same way as Meeker on the propositions.

[RI]

Sent my vote in last night. I caved and supported Murray. Not a big shocker there, I suppose. I voted for Larsen as well, though I voted for Norma Smith against her challenger who wasn't on the primary ballot.

As for the intiatives:
No on I-1053
No on I-1082
Yes on I-1098
No on I-1100
No on I-1105
No on I-1107
Yes on R-52
Yes on SJR 8225
Yes on ESHJR 4220

[RI]

I've met Asay a few times as my dad's best friend has known her for years. She is definitely someone who is a moderate-to-mainstream conservative. She's definitely not a tea party-type conservative and seems to be a very nice and thoughtful person, but she is nevertheless a conservative, especially on fiscal matters.

[RI]

So, Mike Hope is running for Snohomish County Executive. Would he be favored? He did pretty well in his re-election this year.

Hmm. Interesting. I kinda like Mike Hope. I've heard a lot of good things about him, and he's actually done a few things for people I know. Don't like his signs that blatantly rip off Obama's logo though.

[RI]

Sam Reed should take on Cantwell in 2012 with McKenna for governor. That would be the strongest ticket Washington Republicans have put up in quite a long time.

One of the main reasons Sam Reed is popular is because he is not seen as ideological in almost any way. Why do you think he does so well in Olympia? It's not just because he's from there; it's also because he doesn't associate himself with conservatism. If we was a conservative running who was from Olympia, he'd lose Thurston County easily. He just runs on doing the job of SoS, which should be a pretty non-ideological position. If Reed runs for the Senate, he would have to take positions on every issue. Chances are, either liberals or conservatives are really not going to like what happens then.

At this point, it might be better to go the other way around. McKenna has already started to take ideological positions with his opposition to health care reform. Governor is a much less ideological position than Senator, and Reed might have a good chance at winning it.

[RI]

Every county grew except Pacific and Garfield. Not very surprising there. Franklin County saw the highest percentage growth. How much of that was Hispanic growth?

[RI]

WA-05's Hispanic population is really that low?

Most of Washington's Hispanics live not terribly far from the Columbia or at least within its irrigation range, so it shouldn't be that surprising.

[RI]

I don't think Everett is quite that liberal...

[RI]

I'll concede this idea is mildly amusing just because of the ridiculousness of it, but in all seriousness this is not a good idea. Kucinich is a gadfly who is disliked by his colleagues and is unable to accomplish anything in Congress. He's not the type of guy we want going to bat for us. All he's concerned about is making outlandish and controversial statements and getting media attention for himself. He would have no concern for local issues.

This.

[RI]

Kind of a random question, but has all-mail voting grown on anyone?

Always liked it.

[RI]

Random Washington-related question: Why does Wahkiakum County exist? It has one town, four thousand people and nothing notable in it whatsoever. Granted, I've never been there, but why isn't it part of Cowlitz or Pacific?

[RI]

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

[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.

[RI]

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

[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?

[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.

[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.

[RI]

Map time! Red is Stalheim, Blue is Ericksen, Green is Louws.

[RI]

Did anyone feel the 6.7 earthquake off Vancouver Island today? I didn't even notice.

[RI]

We should have a convention for Washington posters in real life.  That would be awesome! 

We would probably get in an argument right away about Tim Eyeman or something and then devolve into chaos.

Speaking of Tim Eyeman are there similar figures to him in other states?

Not that I know of...maybe someone in California; there aren't that many states that are as fixated by referenda as we are.

btw, are there any Washington posters who actually like Eyman? Maybe that Volksliberalist guy?

[RI]

State Auditor Brian Sonntag has announced he won't run for re-election.

What!?! Only 20 years? Nobody has served such a short tenure in over a century!

https://uselectionatlas.org/WIKI/index.php/State_Auditor_of_Washington

Why hasn't Washington introduced term limits?

Because Washington is cool like that.

[RI]

Okay, redistricting was a bust, now can we have another poll, please!

You can vote for Washington on PPP's website for their next poll.

[RI]

Is anyone here planning on participating in the presidential caucuses, either on March 3 (Republican) or April 15 (Democratic)? I've been heavily thinking about attending the Republican one, as the Democratic caucus would be pointless except maybe to cast a protest vote, plus I've never been to a caucus before.