Is Patty Murray Fated to Join Magnuson, Gorton, and Foley in Defeat?

In the article below, it mentions that Patty Murray is banking part of her re-election appeal on the fact that she brings home federal money to Washington and wields power within her (majority) party in the Senate, ala Warren Magnuson, Slade Gorton, and Tom Foley.  The article fails to mention that all three were defeated by upstart politicians (one of whom was Gorton in 1980) using the same tactic that Dino Rossi is now using:  The incumbent has been in office too long and has lost touch with regular people in Washington (the Evergreen State, not the city back east).

From OregonLive.com October 26, 2010 .In this dark and difficult election year for Democrats, incumbent Sen. Patty Murray could very well be the only thing standing between Republicans and GOP control of the U.S. Senate.

It’s a long shot requiring Republicans to add 10 seats. But with pollsters and campaign experts predicting a Republican “tsunami” up and down the ballot in November, even an improbable chance seems dangerous to Democrats.

All of which explains the tense and hard fought battle in Washington between Murray and Republican Dino Rossi and why the election is unavoidable to anyone in Portland with a TV.

Murray focuses on the benefits — and dollars — she’s brought to Washington state. She rarely goes 10 words without mentioning her efforts to help the middle class. When prodded, she speaks of the power she wields as the No. 4 official in the Senate Democratic leadership. It’s a strategy that’s worked well in a state where people still remember Warren Magnuson, Slade Gorton and Tom Foley, all senior lawmakers with enormous clout.

Rossi’s main argument is that Murray has lost her way. “Eighteen years has completely changed Sen. Murray,” Rossi told reporters Monday. “I believe she went there with good intentions, but she’s not the same person we sent there.”

Like most Republicans this year, Rossi promises a hard line on spending, though he’s thin on specifics beyond calling for an end to “earmarks,” in which lawmakers direct federal money to specific projects. At the same time, he supports permanently extending all of the Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest Americans.

Earmarks, Rossi said, are akin to “buying a vote.” The charge is a direct hit at Murray who, as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, has brought huge amounts of federal spending to her state.

Murray does not apologize for that. She talks about cleaning up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and trying to get a new bridge across the Columbia River. She mentions the money she’s attracted for veteran’s hospitals and the state ferry system and her strident support for all things Boeing.

Voters “want somebody (in Washington D.C.) who will advocate for them,” she says. “They don’t want somebody who votes down the line of the Republican National Committee.”

She also defends the controversial health care reform bill and stimulus spending.

“I’m doing exactly what I’ve always done,” Murray said in an interview. “I’ve always fought for the people of Washington state and I’ve always run a grassroots campaign.”

Rossi, a polished campaigner who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2004 and 2008, is using this year’s Republican themes, linking Murray to health care reform, financial regulation and the stimulus. He says Democratic control of the federal government will balloon the deficit, raise taxes, increase spending and make life hard for businesses.

His campaign recently hit Murray for the number of former staffers who work as lobbyists and who attract federal dollars.

Rossi’s attack line, coupled with anti-incumbent anger that could turn three House seats in Washington from Democrat to Republican, has some Republicans believing Murray can be beaten. Recent polls show Murray leading, but the race remains close.

Polls suggest that Republicans are almost certain to take seats from Democrats in North Dakota, Arkansas and Indiana. They have a slightly better than even chance of doing that in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Seats in Colorado, Illinois, Nevada and West Virginia held by Democrats are too close to call.

That’s nine seats in all.

No wonder the race between Murray and Rossi has become so tense and expensive. Both candidates – along with a collection of big-name surrogates and wealthy interest groups — are saturating the state with ads, staffing phone banks, and financing robo calls and other tools of modern elections.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has reserved $2 million in advertising time while the National Republican Senatorial Committee has pledged to spend $4 million. Outside groups have spent $7.8 million so far. Most of that money is attacking Murray and supporting Rossi.

The tight race has also led to a flurry of visits — President Obama last week, followed by First Lady Michelle Obama on Monday, with Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton earlier in the month.

Chris Vance, former chairman of Washington’s Republican Party, says Murray would normally be untouchable. But this year is not normal.

“It’s a perfect nightmare for Patty Murray — a terrible year for Democrats. (Rossi) is one of the very few people in Washington state who can credibly beat her,” he said in an interview.

Vance, who is not part of Rossi’s Campaign, believes the race is less about Murray than about the angry mood of voters.

“Why is Patty Murray in trouble? The tide,” he said. “It’s about the anti-Obama, anti-Nancy Pelosi, anti-Democrat backlash.”

University of Washington political scientist Matt Barreto believes Murray will squeeze out a victory for two reasons. The first is that reports of a Republican blowout nationally will energize Democrats, said Barreto, who directed the Washington Poll.

The other is Murray’s experience as a candidate. “There are no new tricks,” he said, “nothing she hasn’t seen before.”

Murray, running for a fourth term, sidesteps questions about the race’s national impact. But she acknowledges the intensity of the ad wars and says she understands why voters are angry.

“I talk to people about how we got here. It’s a longer story,” she says, referring to an explanation that includes the cost of two wars, plus the cost of stabilizing the economy as well as the financial system.

Murray is hoping her message will win, but even she concedes a truth about the 2010 election:

“It’s so much easier to say, ‘I’m mad, let’s vote them all out.”‘

Tags: 2010 Election, 2010 Senate election, Dino Rossi, election, Patty Murray