Washington state megathread

[CultureKing]

I am glad to see that Sanders lost! I forgot about that race..

[CultureKing]

Here's a photo album of Jaime Herrera Beutler and two pugs: http://photo.kochfoto.com/Portraits/CBLPI/Jaime-Herrera-Beutler-2011/17562319_3T5tWK#!i=1337290823&k=RgwmnJr

Ugh... she needs more than just token opposition. I still can't  believe that she's actually a representative.

[CultureKing]

Obama % v. Approve R-74 % (red areas were more Obama, blue more in favor of gay marriage):

This map can be used to explain so very much about King county' political landscape/oddities. Beautiful. Thank you!

[CultureKing]

Interesting that Whitman voted for both Gay Marriage and Pot Legalization...

And then went for Romney.

[CultureKing]

probably not the right place for this, but...

WE HAVE THE SONICS BACK!!!

[CultureKing]

So.... This thread was on the second page = not OK.

Anyways how's the whole divided legislative branch thing going?

[CultureKing]

And thus the long, slow wait for results begins...

[CultureKing]

Wow... 522 is even down in Thurston. Given the margins against in Eastern WA and the weak pro-vote in King is this completely done for?

[CultureKing]

Holy crap! Will Seattle be the only major US city with a socialist on the council? Also pretty amazing considering it's a city-wide election...

[CultureKing]

It'll probably pass next time.  Hopefully they'll bring it up again in a less inane form, but considering their ultimate goal is probably a GMO ban, I doubt it.

In other news, Kshama Sawant is pretty obviously going to win, and SeaTac Prop. 1 had a good night last night, so it's back in the "likely win" column -- although it's only about a 50-vote margin, so a bad night tonight could throw it off.

Wow... I-522 wound up pulling ahead in Island, Snohomish, Kitsap and Clallam counties. In the end will probably only fail by about a 51-49 margin.

So would you give it about a 60% chance of passing in a larger turnout election?

[CultureKing]

Oh, and by the way -Tim Eyman wants to run for governor!

It isn't clear yet whether he is running as a Republican, a Libertarian, or as an independent candidate.

HAHAHAHAHA! I love that he violated campaign rules *during* his attempt to make an announcement. What a schmuck. I'd love to see him run - he'll get crushed. ..might even be in jail by that point though. Do we think he'd try to run from prison?

[CultureKing]

Has anyone taken a look at the King5/SurveyUSA poll done last week?

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=85b4bf79-80ea-45f1-bddf-88ffd27c2758&c=28

..I don't know exactly what to think of it yet. Seems like the Mayor and the police chief are getting mixed reviews for their handling of the protests (calls for resignation among protesters don't seem to be getting tons of traction).

One fascinating tidbit: concern for personal safety strongly correlates with party affiliation and ideology.

BLM is supported by 82% of the city populace (10% don't support)

[CultureKing]

Maybe she'll run as an Independent?

I know there's a push for a top 4 primary with ranked choice voting. I'd be in favor of that just on the basis of assured wacky results we'd get here and there. But it would be nice to get away from the stranglehold 2 party system.

Is there a referendum or movement in Olympia?

I'd totally be down for this..

[CultureKing]

The important thing to note here are the results in Kshama Sawant’s district.

..I think it's pretty clear she's going down.

Ex: I'm a former Sawant voter who was fed up by her antics in the last year or two and know plenty of people who are in the same boat. The last election was heavily influenced by Amazon which created a perfect foil for Sawant. This go around all of the attention is solely on Sawant, which is not good for her prospects.

[CultureKing]

I can't stand that they are labeling it as a 'right-wing recall'. The recall has pulled from folks across the spectrum, including many progressives. Feels like a misstep in my mind and one that could backfire for the Sawant campaign as they essentially make the claim 'either you are with us or you are right-wing'.

[CultureKing]

Yeah, she's probably fine. Honestly, I thought she'd struggle without an opponent.

Maybe Egan deserves a bit more credit? (Really wish Amazon had not pushed their way into that race).

[CultureKing]

Though side note: apparently King County was able to count 32,129 ballots today. Meanwhile, turnout was apparently 34,753 by 6 PM, while the total for the 2019 election was 42,956.. Assuming similar total turnout to 2019 Kshama would need to win about 60% of the remaining vote? Seems both doable/likely to be close either way.

Any idea if we should expect more or fewer ballots than 2019?

[CultureKing]

So, we are finally free of Tim Sheldon?! As someone who grew up in his district, this deserves a celebration!

..though the days of electing democrats in Shelton/Hood Canal may be over.