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Today is primary day in Washington and Wyoming. Both states’ races include important statewide elections.
[Ed. note: Jon will be liveblogging tonight's results on the Elections page. Polls close in Wyoming at 9pm EDT.]
Wyoming
Governor – Popular Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal has decided not to run for re-election creating a excellent pick up opportunity for the Republican Party. Most observers expect the Republicans to win the governor’s race in this very red state, which is why the Republican primary has been crowded with several viable candidates. A Mason-Dixon poll for Casper Star-Tribune found in the Republican primary State Auditor Rita Meyer had the lead at 27% among those polled. Close behind her is Matt Mead with 24%, House Speaker Colin Simpson at 17%, and Ron Micheli with 12%.
On the Democratic side, the campaign has been less intense. The race is between former Democratic Party chair Leslie Peterson and Pete Gosar. The Mason-Dixon poll found Peterson leading Grosar, 30% to 22%, but with a huge level of undecided. Neither Democratic candidate is considered to be a top recruit. The only poll of the general election I can find is a Rasmussen poll from June; although aged, it shows all potential Republicans with a big lead over the potential Democrats.
Washington
A note on Washington’s “top two primary”: Unlike most states, Washington has recently stopped using a partisan primary, in which political parties select their nominees for the general. Washington State now uses the “top two primary” system in which all candidates, regardless of party, compete. The two candidates that earn the most votes in the primary become the only two candidates on the general election ballot. In theory, the general election could be a fight between two Democrats or two Republicans or even two independents if any of these combinations are the two top vote-getters tonight.
Senate – The big race is the primary for U.S. Senate. Recent polling indicates that incumbent Democrat Patty Murray and Republican Dino Rossi are expected to be the winners of their respective partys’ nominations. Having run twice unsuccessfully for statewide office, Rossi is well known in the state and the Republican establishment’s choice. There are two other more conservative Republicans, Clint Didier and Paul Akers, hoping to come in second so they can make it to the general but according to polls they are trailing Rossi by double-digits.
3rd District – This swing district is represented by Democrat Brian Baird who decided to not run for re-election this year, making this one of the most hotly contested races this November. There are three serious candidates for the two top slots: Democrat Denny Heck, Republican Jaime Herrera, and Republican David Castillo. Former state legislator Denny Heck is the best financed person in the primary and as the only serious Democratic candidate he is expect to easily secure one of the top two slots. Herrera is better financed and is the Republican Party establishment favorite among the two Republicans. David Castillo is trying to run to the right of Herrera and has the backing of Tea Party sponsor FreedomWorks.
25 Comments
Thanks for the info Jon
As an old Washington Redskins fan, the ‘Skins used to have an H-Back (or tight end; in Joe Gibbs’ offense it was known as the H-Back) named Clint Didier. This wouldn’t be the one and same Clint Didier would it?
Nice summary. In my very red county in Washington State, the top two in the local races are most likely to be Republicans. The nice thing about this, is the Dems (30 percent) can vote for the less crazy Republican in the general election. In the past, a Dem without a snowballs chance would move forward with little chance of taking out the hard line Repub.
Of interest, there is a Jesse Helms protege in the sheriff’s race. Kind of weird to have someone with a southern accent running for office around here. Doubt he will take the top spot or even make it to the next level as there are two candidates with actual law enforcement experience that will probably move forward.
Dear old Clint has a lot of signs in my area and they include a football. Yes, he is the same one. Also, he is a farmer who takes farm subsidies and has been asked about it in regards to his complaints about government spending.
Yep. From his web site
And what might you wish to drink?
I’ll be darned.
A right wing conservative too.
There’s already one (that I’m aware of) ex-Redskin in Congress now, as Heath Shuler used to be the quarterback of the team. He’s a Congressman from North Carolina (or SC, one of ‘em). A D, but a DINO.
Only somewhat off topic, I would like to understand something. I live among a bunch of Rush/Glen republicans and often get the most clueless insulting emails about Dems. You know the garbage about monkeys, birth certificates, out of control spending, hates soldiers, etc. When I finally have enough and ask them to not send this stupid shit and just send family/updates on life etc, they get all huffy and quite sending anything. I’ve even had one tell me that she is balanced and send the same thing about Dems and Repubs. Whoa, I’m thinking. Out of a hundred emails over a few years, one, just one, made a negative comment about a Republican. Why can’t they just leave politics out to this. I don’t send them political stuff, because it isn’t worth the hassle.
Reisling, please.
If you haven’t seen it David Horsey, Seattle P-I, has an interesting article http://blog.seattlepi.com/davidhorsey/archives/216650.asp about the Rossi/Didier race.
Here ya go
“Clint Didier” sounds like a porn name.
Great! And, on our hottest day of the year so far.
In return, here is one of my favorites back to you.
https://www.townshendcellar.com/wines.asp?WINEID=409
Well, he was a tight end!
*groan*
Muchas Gracias
If you are ever in the Spokane area, do look for this winery. It is just at the southern end of the Green Bluff area. It isn’t the fancy destination winery you see elsewhere, but the quality is high and the prices are quite reasonable. Everyone we have sent down there has become a big fan.
Please note, this “quite” means “quite”, but my earlier “quite” meant “quit”.
It’s usually the places recommended by locals that garner the highest praise. Especially when they’re not the “destination” places
Although I must admit when I’ve drunk Ch. St Michel wines, I’ve found them reasonable in price and taste (I believe they are a Washington State vineyard)
They are, but I’m sensitive to preservatives. Townshend uses the least amount of preservatives to keep their quality stable and that makes a big difference for me.
They get most of their business from either people trying their wines at local restaurants or from referrals from other customers.
I will definitely check them out should I ever make my way to the Northwest.
When you have someone like Clint Didier (Tea Partier, Sara Palin endorsement) running in your area, it gives you a quick picture of your neighbors. His yard signs (often about 4 feet tall) are a quick way to learn a little about how my neighbors think…
I don’t know why, but most of the candidates bios say “never held office before”, as though that’s a good thing. Sure, I want a high school football coach (from a very small town, small high school) to take his “game plan” to Washington D.C. Heck, I don’t even know if they play 11 on a side in Connell!
Thanks for the wine tip, SueTheRedWA. I like both Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier, so it is probably a nice combination. And I try to buy local wines only, especially since we have such a nice selection here!
As a Washington voter, I’m actually quite interested in how the new primaries will work out. I see this as an opportunity to bust the two party hold on politics. Then again, these could be more easily gamed too.
What do the rest of you think about open primaries?
I like it. When we had the primary where you had to pick your party, we lost a good prosecuting attorney and got a useless one, because the local Dems were forced to choose between voting in the statewide elections for a Dem or voting in the local election for a Repub. Both my husband and I chose the local election, but the better guy lost out in the primary.
I think we will end up with more moderate Dems and Reps because of it. Considering my county has elected Constitutionalists on occasion, having the possibility to vote for someone not quite so far right is a plus.
It would seem that on a statewide level, the end result would be essentiall the same as it is now, e.g., top Dem and top Rep taking the two top slots (see Washington state where candidates will be Murray (D) and Rossi (R.
But at the local level (county, township, etc.), the results could be quite different. Instead of the typical biparty split, you will end up with two Republicans in a rightwing area, and two Dems win more liberal/progressive areas. I had not considered the possibility, raised by SuetheRedWash above to vote against the nutjob in the general election and prevent the election of the teabagger candidates who might otherwise garner all the Rep voter support if they only had to run against a Dem in a Republican-strong area. Interesting possibilities with that. Of course, the reverse can also be true where the Dem who gets elected is the more DINO of the two if enough Republicans vote with Conservadems against the progressive candidate. Will be interesting to see how this plays out, especially now that CA has adopted a similar system.