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Olympia, Wash. (AP) -- Washington state Democrats sued a state official Tuesday to get a Republican listed on the ballot, arguing a candidate is obscuring his party identity by ballot language that says he "prefers GOP party." The candidate, Dino Rossi, is facing a rematch this November with Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire, who beat him by 133 votes four years ago after three counts and a court challenge. The lawsuit the party filed against Secretary of State Sam Reed argues that "allowing Mr. Rossi to obscure his true party preference and affiliation directly violates the law, would mislead a substantial...

Democrats are expected to make strong gains in state legislatures this fall, but what do these stronger Democratic majorities mean? A look at Washington State may show what is in store for the rest of the country. Public employee unions are handing over vast amounts of money to the incumbent governor's re-election campaign, while the governor is simultaneously sitting at the bargaining table negotiating contracts with these very unions. If it seems inappropriate for the governor, Christine Gregoire, who is locked in a very tight re-election, to benefit personally from the parties that her office is negotiating with, that's just...

WA: Obama 49, McCain 47 Gregoire 46 Rossi 52

Democrats are expected to make strong gains in state legislatures this fall, but what do these stronger Democratic majorities mean? A look at Washington State may show what is in store for the rest of the country.Public employee unions are handing over vast amounts of money to the incumbent governor's re-election campaign, while the governor is simultaneously sitting at the bargaining table negotiating contracts with these very unions. If it seems inappropriate for the governor, Christine Gregoire, who is locked in a very tight re-election, to benefit personally from the parties that her office is negotiating with, that's just your...

John McCain will be nominated this week as the Republican candidate for president. He likely will ride effortlessly through the party's national convention in St. Paul, MN. But in Washington state, McCain will share the ballot this fall with Republicans trying to distance themselves from the national party and doing little to link arms with the McCain campaign. Dino Rossi, a Republican who lists his party preference as "GOP Party," is doing his best to bask in Barack Obama's message of change as he tries to unseat Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. Rossi talks so much about Obama on the campaign...

As Election Day draws closer, the governor’s race in Washington, a replay of the 2004 contest, keeps getting more competitive. Incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire now leads by just four percentage points. A month ago, she was up by six points over Republican challenger Dino Rossi. Two months ago, the incumbent held a seven-point lead and the month before that, Governor Gregoire enjoyed aneleven-point lead. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows Gregoire attracting 47% of the vote while Rossie earns 43%. This is the second straight month that Greogoire’s support has stayed below the 50% mark....

Gov. Chris Gregoire did Monday what families and businesses have been doing for months: She ordered cuts in travel and buying gasoline, a hiring freeze and a lid on major purchases for most state agencies. The effort is expected to save $90 million, making up for an unexpected $60 million drop in revenue in June. The lost income came from a slowdown in the housing market and lower business taxes than expected. "I am asking each of you to step up your efforts to increase savings. I ask that you be creative and take action now," Gregoire said in a...

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is taking it as a compliment: She was turned away from a bar in the state capital because she couldn't prove she's of legal age to drink.

Washington state GOP hits Michelle Obama I am glad I am not the only one who thinks Michelle Obama is fair game for saying the outrageous things she has said. In anticipation of her meeting with liberal Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, the state GOP produced this video. http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=zOcU-BP0T4c&rel=1&eurl=http%3A//www.typepad.com/t/app/weblog/post&iurl=http%3A//i.ytimg.com/vi/zOcU-BP0T4c/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskIJonIElc-TAm7UrL1cJB8M&fs=1&hl=en

Money poured in for a recount in Christine Gregoire's close race against Dino Rossi. Those supporters — including unions and a tribal-gambling group — have benefited during the governor's first termOLYMPIA — In late 2004, when Christine Gregoire's bid to become governor was engulfed in legal challenges, the state Democratic Party sent out a plea for help. The checks started rolling in almost immediately — $250,000 from the state's largest public-employee union, $50,000 from a tribal-gambling group, $25,000 from the state's main teachers union. Major national political groups also weighed in. That money, more so than the millions Gregoire received...

Governor says deal curbs the growth of Indian gamblingOLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire is benefiting from more than $650,000 in campaign contributions from Indian tribes that hit the jackpot in 2005 when she killed a gambling compact potentially worth more than $140 million a year to the state. Unlike 22 other states that collect millions from revenue sharing agreements for tribal gambling, Washington gets no money from tribal casinos under the compact that Gregoire renegotiated with the Spokane Tribe. Gregoire backed away from the 2005 agreement that included revenue sharing in an attempt to keep gambling from expanding too quickly...

The re-election prospects for Washington Governor Christine Gregoire (D) have improved significantly over the past two months. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Washington voters shows Gregoire leading her Republican challenger, Dino Rossi, by eleven percentage points. It’s Gregoire 52% Rossi 41%. In late March, Gregoire was up by just a statistically insignificant single percentage point. In February, Rossi had a one point advantage. Four years ago, the 2004 election between the same two candidates was one of the closest elections in the state’s history.

A surprise U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Washington’s voter-approved Top 2 primary system was hailed by Secretary of State Sam Reed today as a huge victory for average voters over the political parties. “Wow!” Reed said when he heard of the court’s decision from The Associated Press. “That’s terrific! It means the people of the state of Washington are going to be able to control who gets elected through this process.” The first running of the new primary will be Aug. 19. But state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz said the decision complicates Washington elections, and that the party will...

He may have boasted of his big family, his political rise and his legislative triumphs, but speaking Tuesday night before hundreds of Clark County building industry professionals, Dino Rossi was all businessman."I came from a world of no salary, no benefits; you don't work, you don't eat - I understand the free enterprise system," the Republican gubernatorial candidate said at the Vancouver event, to laughter and applause. "And I sign the front side of paychecks."Rossi, a former commercial real estate broker and state senator who lives in Sammamish, is five months into what he expects to be a rematch against...

One feature of the four-year political struggle between Gov. Chris Gregoire and almost-Gov. Dino Rossi has been an abundance of suspect and self-serving opinion surveys. At last comes a poll, albeit with a few weeks under its belt, that surprised its takers. Washington Conservation Voters hired Grove Insight, Portland's top pollster, in November to see if Evergreen State voters are ready to walk the talk against global warming. WCV threw in a series of questions that were NOT mentioned in the Jan. 22 news release announcing poll results. The key finding: The Gregoire-Rossi race is dead even. In a trial...

OLYMPIA-- With or without Seattle's approval, the state will tear down the earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct in 2012, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday. "It's coming down in 2012. I'm taking it down -- the middle," she said, referring to the elevated portion of the span that runs roughly from Battery Street Tunnel to Pioneer Square, which has been the most vexing and controversial piece of the transportation puzzle. "That's the timeline. I'm not going to fudge on it. And if we don't have some alternative by then, boy are we going to have a mess on our hands because it's...

~EXCERPT~ (CNN) — Barack Obama has won the backing of Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, one day before that state is set to hold its Democratic primary. The Washington Democrat, who won the office in 2004 after a hand recount favored her by only 129 votes, said she found it difficult to choose between Obama and Hillary Clinton, but was ultimately drawn to the Illinois senator's charisma and leadership skills. **snip** Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have endorsed Clinton's White House bid.

OLYMPIA -- For Gov. Chris Gregoire, apparently less is more. Heading into a bruising re-election battle with budget hawk Dino Rossi, the Democratic governor is adopting a high-profile penny-pinching role, saying that in these uncertain times, Olympia should sock away most of the state's $1.4 billion surplus. Although Gregoire can't rival Rossi in the fiscal conservatism department -- and would alienate her liberal base if she tried -- she views the 2008 legislative session as a prime opportunity to show voters that she's frugal and can restrain spending by her fellow Democrats. It's true that Gregoire is willing to leave...

Top political experts have identified the Washington governor's race as one of the three most competitive in the country in 2008 — after Missouri and Indiana, where Republican governors are defending their jobs. If it seems completely twilight-zone weird that Washington's race is so tight, it is odder still when you realize that our state enjoys one of the nation's most bustling economies. Boeing is humming. Microsoft is strong. Unemployment is low. And yet Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, who normally would bask in this reflected glory, appears vulnerable against her former and future opponent, Republican Dino Rossi. A recent survey...

Three of seven defendants in the biggest voter-registration fraud scheme in Washington history have pleaded guilty and one has been sentenced, prosecutors said Monday. The defendants were all temporary employees of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, when they allegedly filled out and submitted more than 1,800 fictitious voter-registration cards during a 2006 registration drive in King and Pierce counties. No votes were cast in the names of the phony voters. Prosecutors said the defendants committed fraud in order to keep their jobs without actually registering voters. King County election workers brought the fraud to the attention...