Sen. Gorton Faces Cyber-Challenger
A dot.com multimillionaire who promises to spend "whatever it takes" to defeat GOP U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton was the big winner in Washington state's last open primary on Tuesday.
With almost 90 percent of the votes counted, Democrat Maria Cantwell easily outmatched opponent Deborah Senn, the state insurance commissioner, by a 3-to-1 margin, taking 37 percent of the vote.
"Unbelievable! … I am so proud," Cantwell told her supporters as the results came in. "I want to make the political system work for real people of this state."
Gorton, who faced token opposition, garnered just 43 percent in the open primary, prompting predictions of a close November race for the three-term incumbent.
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Cantwell, a RealNetworks executive who took a leave of absence to run for office, is worth an estimated $40 million. She has spent about $5 million of her own money on her campaign, much of it on statewide television ads in which she told voters she would not take donations from political action committees, or PACs.
Gorton said it's Cantwell's constitutional right to spend millions of dollars on her campaign, but indicated he didn't like it.
"She will come after us with $10 million," he said. "She simply writes another check."
Groton said his "secret weapon" is the 21,000 grass-roots supporters who will work for him in their communities. His campaign spokesperson predicted Cantwell would set "all kinds of spending records in Washington state."
While many political observers agree the general election will prove to be one of the most expensive in state history, there's disagreement over what, if any, impact that will have on voters.
Ken Hoover, a professor at Western Washington University who specializes in state politics, believes Cantwell's emphasis on campaign finance reform will resonate with voters.
He's not sure that Gorton, who is also independently wealthy, can make the case that his challenger is trying to buy the office. Gorton also as the backing of several business heavyweights in the state, including Boeing, Weyerhaeuser and Microsoft.
But what money can't buy is experience, and polls indicate that is the source of Gorton's strength heading into November. A survey conducted by pollster Stuart Elway in the four days preceding the primary shows that many likely voters cite Gorton's 18 years in the Senate as their reason for supporting him.
Cantwell, a former state legislator, has served one term in Congress. She beat Gorton in just one demographic group - boomers aged 36 to 50. She also lags far behind among independent voters, who make up at least a third of the state's electorate.
"That's not too surprising, given that Gorton's a well-known guy," said Elway. "Any election like this is probably going to be about the incumbent… whether to replace him or not… this one is not any different."
But Elway notes that Cantwell has gained an average of 10 points a month in his tracking polls since May, and finished just two points behind Gorton when voters were asked about a Cantwell-Gorton match up in November. "We're in for a spirited campaign," he said.
Also in Washington, Gov. Gary Locke easily won the Democratic nomination to seek a second term with 55 percent of the vote. He will face off with former conservative radio talk-show host John Carlson, who comfortably defeated beat his Republican rival.
While Carlson enjoys name recognition and is arguably a better communicator than Locke, he will have to compete with Locke's appeal to large sectors of voters. "Carlson's going to have to work hard to convince independents and moderates he's more akin to their views," says Hoover.
Nonetheless, Carlson came out swinging at a Wednesday morning news conference. While posing with a row of yellow rubber ducks, he accused the governor of ducking a list of debate invitations. The two are currently scheduled for three debates.
On Tuesday night, Locke vowed to run a positive campaign, saying, "No amount of negative TV ads will drown out our spirit or drown out our voices."
In the state's 5th Congressional district, Rep. George Nethercutt won his primary by a 2-to-1 margin despite breaking his 1994 campaign promise to leave office after three terms. He will face Democrat Tom Keefe in November.
Tuesday's election also brought an end to Washington's 65-year old open primary, which allows voters to choose any candidate regardless of party affiliation. Last spring, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the "blanket primary" system used in Washington, California and Alaska.