Washington

Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The state capital is Olympia and the largest city in Washington is Seattle. As of the 2000 census, the state population was approximately 5.9 million and the state work force numbered about 3.1 million. Residents are called "Washingtonians" (emphasis on the third syllable, which rhymes with bone).

Government and political activism

Washington has usually been considered a key swing state politically, although in recent elections, it has been comfortably in the hands of the Democrats.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The state is literally split down the middle politically, with Eastern Washington firmly in the hands of the Republican Party and Western Washington, especially around Seattle, firmly in Democratic hands. Since the population is larger in the west, the Democrats usually fare better statewide.

Related Topics:
Republican Party - Seattle

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although nationally, Washington is not usually a major force in politics, in 1994, Washington was one of the places where the Republican Party gained power in their nationwide landslide. Republicans won six of the eight House of Representative seats held by Democrats and Republican Slade Gorton held on to his Senate seat.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Washington has voted for the Democratic candidate in presidential elections recently in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. It was considered a key swing state in 1968 and 2000. In 1968, it was the only Western state to give its electoral votes to Hubert Humphrey. In 2004, John Kerry won the state's 11 electoral votes by a margin of seven percentage points with 52.8% of the vote.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2004, Washington's gubernatorial race was so close that the Secretary of State certified Republican candidate Dino Rossi as governor-elect almost a month after the polls had closed, beating out the Democratic candidate Christine Gregoire by just over two hundred votes. Due to the small margin of victory, a machine recount (required by law) took place and, by a margin of only 42 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast, Rossi won again. However, the Democrats requested a final hand count of the votes. Gregoire ended up winning this count by 129 votes and was inaugurated on January 12, 2005. The subsequent court battles raged for months after the election, but ultimately ended with Gregoire retaining her office. The final official count left Gregoire ahead by 133 votes.

Related Topics:
2004 - Washington's gubernatorial race - Dino Rossi - Christine Gregoire - January 12 - 2005

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Washington has the distinction for being the first and so far only state to elect women to all three major statewide offices at the same time, both Senators and the Governor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elected officials

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Executive
• Christine Gregoire, governor (D)
• Brad Owen, lieutenant governor (D)
• Sam Reed, secretary of state (R)
• Rob McKenna, attorney general (R)
• Mike Murphy, treasurer (D)
• Brian Sonntag, auditor (D)
• Terry Bergeson, superintendent of public education (non partisan office)
• Doug Sutherland,commissioner of public lands (R)
• Mike Kreidler, insurance commissioner (D)
• Legislature
• Washington Legislature
• Currently the Democratic Party is in control of both the House and the Senate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~