December 25, 2004
DINO SOAR:
WASHINGTON COMEBACK (Robert Novak, 12/25/04, Townhall)
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, facing a potentially difficult 2006 second term election in the state of Washington, may have mixed reactions to Republican State Sen. Dino Rossi apparently being counted out in the 2004 election for governor.Democratic State Atty. Gen. Christine Gregoire was an overwhelming favorite for governor, but Rossi was ahead in the recount until court rulings favored the Democrats. The only proven statewide candidate for the Republicans, Rossi would be the GOP's best Senate bet against Cantwell.
Cantwell goes into the 2006 campaign in poor financial shape. According to federal filings, Cantwell's campaign committee on Sept. 30 was $2.5 million in debt with $264,000 cash on hand.
Republicans in WA would surely rather have him as governor, but for the rest of us it's good news on the road to 60 in '06. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 25, 2004 3:20 PM
> Republicans in WA would surely rather have him as governor,
Not so surely. Mind you, I'm not an actual Republican party member, but merely a conservative/libertarian sympathizer. But I think I speak for quite a few in saying that,
as much as I would have preferred Rossi over Gregoire, retiring even our less-embarassing Democrat senator would be a splendid thing indeed.