Introduction: Washington gubernatorial candidate Christine Gregoire's lead has increased to 130 votes thanks to the counting of over 500 disputed ballots that the state's Supreme Court yesterday told the county it could count. The county has officially certified results.
I'm following new developments in the gubernatorial race on Permanent Defense and the Northwest Progressive Institute.
Now, my thoughts.
Washington State Republicans know it's all over. Christine Gregoire is now the victor in Washington's gubernatorial race after the Democratic Party refused to back down and was able to put up the money to fund a hand recount.
Republicans know that Dino Rossi will no longer win. The Legislature is controlled by Democrats, the County Auditors have agreed not to consider the additional votes Republicans now want them to count, and the Secretary of State says the election is over after all counties have certified.
So what are Republicans doing?
They're getting ready for 2006 and 2008. And part of the game plan is to de-legitimize Christine Gregoire's win. They will continue to say they think Rossi won. They will allege fraud. They will fight for any rules change that they think they will benefit from. They will say the troops were disenfranchised.
In two or four years, Rossi will run again. I think it'll be four, and I think he'll run for Governor - maybe a rematch against Christine Gregoire, if she decides to run again. Usually incumbents have an edge. That's why Republicans are trying to make her election seem illegitimate.
They're planning ahead, laying in the groundwork for next time. And Democrats should be on guard: we can't just celebrate victory, we have to fight hard to dispel any claim that Christine Gregoire is not the rightful governor.
The vote was definitely too close to call. But the law says that there can only be two recounts - and that the final recount is what matters. The only option after that is to contest the election. But there's no evidence that there was fraud in our system. Nevertheless, the GOP will make that claim.
Victories usually come with a tag attached. The tag on this one is that we have to make sure that the GOP does not win the battle for public opinion.
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