While many Republican candidates for statewide office in blue states are struggling, gubernatorial nominee Dino Rossi seems to be defying political gravity in his rematch against Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire. In fact, Gregoire is now the most vulnerable gubernatorial incumbent in the country.
One indicator of Gregoire’s vulnerability can be found in the results of the August 19 primary. Washington held a “top two” primary in which all candidates ran on a single ballot, with the top two finishers moving on to the general election. The state also abandoned the traditional party designations, instead including the phrase “prefers …” (e.g., “prefers Democratic Party,” “prefers GOP”) next to each candidate’s name. Gregoire took 48.3 percent to 46.4 percent for Rossi, with eight other candidates splitting the remaining 1.9 percent. The difference between the two was just 27,735 votes out of 1,442,457 cast. The results make it hard to argue that Gregoire is standing on political terra firma.
Rossi’s decision to use the “prefers GOP Party” designation, coupled no doubt by his strong primary performance, concerned Democrats enough that they challenged the
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