It took an agonizing week to confirm, but it's finally settled... both my Senator (Patty Murray) and Representative are still Democrats. That means Democrats are still the majority in the Washington State delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives. Dems also still control both houses of the State Legislature. Washington State is still firmly blue. From The Seattle Times:
Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen is headed back to Congress for a sixth term after defeating his Republican rival, Snohomish County Councilman John Koster.
Larsen led Koster 51 percent to 49 percent in the state's 2nd District with more than 281,000 votes counted by Monday night, well outside the range for a mandatory recount.
Larsen trailed by about 1,200 votes Nov. 2 but has steadily gained ground against Koster, who had hoped to ride the national Republican tide that ousted dozens of incumbent Democrats and reclaimed a GOP majority in Congress.
Larsen led by nearly 5,500 votes Monday night, with an estimated 18,000 ballots to count. Koster would need more than 65 percent of those in order to overcome Larsen's lead — a virtual impossibility, according to a Seattle Times analysis.
John Koster mounted a tough challenge to Larsen's re-election hopes. Koster is a Councilman from Snohomish County, the most populous county in the 2nd Congressional District, (not to mention Glenn Beck was born and raised here... HA!) . He had signs EVERYWHERE, including large add-on billboards at most major intersections in Snohomish County, claiming Larsen's legacy was "$13 Trillion in Debt" and "16.5% Unemployment" and asking if voters had "Had Enough?". Apparently they have... of John Koster.