Washington Governor's Election Certified, Showing Win by Democrat; Opponent Seeks New Vote OLYMPIA, Wash. Dec 30, 2004 — After three vote tallies and nearly two nerve-racking months of waiting, Democrat Christine Gregoire was declared Washington's governor-elect on Thursday. But her Republican rival did not concede and wants a new election. "Less than two weeks from today I will take the oath of office as your next governor of the great state of Washington," an ebullient Gregoire told supporters at a Capitol news conference. The Republican candidate, Dino Rossi, said he was exploring whether to contest the election in the courts...