After losing the first two counts in Washington's closest-ever race for governor, it appears Democrat Christine Gregoire has pulled even with — or possibly overtaken — Republican Dino Rossi on the final day of a contentious statewide manual recount. King County, the last to complete the recount, is not expected to release new vote totals until this afternoon. But state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said last night the party's calculations indicate that, with virtually all of the votes tallied, Gregoire is ahead by eight votes. "Based on the data we've received, we're confident she's taken the lead," Berendt said.