Survey USA: Murray 37%, Rossi 33%, Didier 5%, Akers 3%

A new KING 5/Survey USA poll has Patty Murray and Dino Rossi far ahead in the August 17 primary for the U.S. Senate race in Washington state:

Murray (D) 37%
Rossi (R) 33%
Didier (R) 5%
Akers (R) 3%
Undecided 19%

The poll's margin of error is 4.4%, which means Murray and Rossi are statistically in a dead heat.  These results are almost identical to an Elway poll released last week, which was the first poll conducted specifically of the August "top two" primary for which ballots will start being mailed out in a about a month.  38 of 39 Washington counties are all vote by mail.  The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will go on to the November general election.

The poll also verified the "enthusiasm gap" between Washington Republicans and Demoocrats:

Meanwhile, a good sign for Republicans is voter frustration with the status quo. The poll asked voters how enthusiastic they are about voting this year compared to last year. Among Republicans in our state, 49 percent are more enthusiastic this year. By comparison, the majority of Democrats, nearly 60 percent, say they are no more or less enthusiastic than usual.

Who could be inspired by voting for Patty Murray's 19-24th years in the U.S. Senate?  What have the first 18 accomplished?

Triangulating Dino Rossi

Publicola editor Josh Feit has predicted:

Didier is going to make Rossi look good (moderate) to the mainstream public. Instead of alienating the GOP base, Rossi’s scrap with Didier is going to attract moderate Democrats and Independents who want change, but not Krazy change.

Didier will make those important moderate voters feel comfortable with Rossi in time for the general.

The latest attack on Rossi by the Washington Life Coalition would seem to prove the theory out.  For years, Rossi has been attacked from the left by NARAL, NOW and Planned Parenthood as a caveman who wants to keep women barefoot and pregnant.  Now a far right organization joins in, slamming Rossi in a new video for not unconditionally opposing abortion, even in the case of rape or incest.

WA Senate Candidates Weigh In On Petraeus Confirmation

The U.S. Senate today unanimously confirmed the appointment of General David Petraeus as the top military commander in Afghanistan to replace Stanley McChrystal.

Washington U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi issued a press release praising the confirmation, stating:

Didier's Supporters Keeping It Classy

The picture below was taken from the "Clint Didier for Senate" Facebook page this afternoon.  It's an obvious takeoff of the various pictures of Obama as Joker that circulated last summer



The picture wasn't posted by an admin and was later deleted.  But it shows the mindset of many of Didier's more rabid supporters, who forget that Didier is supposedly running against Patty Murray, not Dino Rossi.

None Dare Call It Treason

In a diary entry at the leftist Washblog, "Stop Dino" wrote:

There are several disturbing polls out there showing a Patty Murray vs. Dino Rossi race as way too close for comfort. According to several polling organizations a hypothetical race between Murray and Rossi is a statistical dead heat, while there are other polls such as Elway show Murray with a slight lead. It is particularly disturbing that the Murray lead over Rossi in Elway, which has consistently shown the best numbers for the incumbent senator, has gone from 17% on May 2 to 7% on June 13th. If the race remains this tight going into November, a motivated base within the extreme right wing of the Republican party could make the difference,

"The Reagan Wing" Were For Rossi Before They Were Against Him

The cranks headed up by Doug Parris at the poorly-named "The Reagan Wing" blog have been pounding Washington U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi recently as the candidate being forced on all the decent liberty-loving folks of this state by the "establishment/King County/left/gay" wing of the Washington State Republican Party.  Purportedly, Parris represents the thinking of the state's Campaign for Liberty (Ron Paul's political organization,) many of whose members support Clint Didier (the Campaign for Liberty cannot officially endorse a candidate.)  I have spoken with representatives of the C4L and can say that Parris' toxic viewpoint does not represent all of their members thinking.

That's why it was intriguing to find this link on Google:

Rasmussen: Rossi and Murray in Dead Heat

The latest Rasmussen poll continues to spell trouble for the Democrats in the Washington U.S Senate race.  For an 18 year incumbent to be polling below 50% less than 5 months before the election has to be very troubling.  According to Rasmussen:

Elway Poll: Rossi Far Ahead of Didier and Akers, Closing on Murray

A new Elway poll released yesterday found the following results for the August 17 Washington "top two" primary for the U.S. Senate race in Washington state.  Remember, under Washington law, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November, regardless of party:

Patty Murray (D) 43%
Dino Rossi (R) 31%
Clint Didier (R) 5%
Paul Akers (R) 2%

Podcast: Kirby Wilbur Interviews Washington U.S. Senate Candidates

Last Friday afternoon, during the Washington Republican Convention, conservative radio talk show host Kirby Wilbur interviewed Washington U.S. Senate candidates Paul Akers and Dino Rossi in Esther Short Park in Vancouver.  Clint Didier was invited but unable to attend because he was meeting with Sarah Palin in the Tri-Cities.  I have extended the offer to Clint personally to ask him the same questions and post his responses here.

 Intro from Tom Forbes:

Didier Campaign Implies Rossi is Floundering

There's a political narrative being spun by the Didier campaign in the Washington U.S. Senate race that somehow the Dino Rossi campaign is sputtering.  Didier is in D.C. to meet with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and to do some fundraising, according to Politico.  Didier has just tweeted that he has also met with Ron Paul.  Having support from both Sarah Palin and Ron Paul might seem a little weird, but Palin did endorse Rand Paul in Kentucky (as well as Ron Paul's neo-con archnemesis John McCain.)  The "Rogue"  has been all over the place in her endorsements this year.