As people know, we have a neck-and-neck rematch in our Washington State Governor’s race, which Democrat Chris Gregoire won last year by 133 votes. It seems equally tight this round, and unfortunately, the Democratic hotbeds of King County (Seattle) and Pierce County (Tacoma) are voting significantly at the polls, while the rest of the state votes by mail, which leads to higher turnouts.
The Seattle PI did an article yesterday on how the Republican dominated counties (which vote by mail) are all coming in with higher voting rates than Democratic King County, and how that's a major problem for Gregoire.
To make matter worse, if as we all hope, Obama clinches early, a lot of west coast voters risk staying home. Usually this is a wash, but the core Republican constituency has already voted by mail, while the core Democratic districts need to turn out to the polls. So Gregoire has an even greater structural disadvantage.
The only way to overcome this is with a major push for last-minute voter turnout in the Democratic hotbeds, which is still possible, given that our polls don't close till 8:00 PM Pacific Time. I'm hoping that wherever you are in the country, some Kossacks can use the Obama campaigncalling tool to make calls to help turn Democratic voters out. This can also help with the neck and neck Darcy Burner race in our 8th Congressional district.
This could make all the difference in reelecting a wonderful progressive governor and capturing a key Congressional seat. You can also contact any of the Gregoire field offices.
Thanks for all everyone is doing. Lets sweep this coast to coast
Paul Loeb
Author Soul of a Citizen
www.paulloeb.org