09/02/2006

By DAVID AMMONS  / Associated Press

Sen. Maria Cantwell, one of America's more vulnerable Democratic incumbents, and her Republican challenger, Mike McGavick, are expected to blow past their respective intraparty rivals in Washington state's Sept. 19 primary.

With record spending of $30 million by the two millionaire candidates expected by their Nov. 7 finale, the Washington race is drawing some national attention because it could be pivotal to Democrats' hopes of taking back control of the Senate.

The Senate primary, winnowing down the partisan field from 11 candidates down to the finalists, is the marquee race in a mostly ho-hum election that may draw only one voter in three. Most of the vote will be cast by mail.

The primary election has become more than a one-day affair, spanning a voting season of more than two weeks, beginning when absentee ballots arrive in voters' mailboxes around Labor Day.

The action also includes:

_Three hotly contested state Supreme Court races. At least two will be decided in the primary, since only two candidates signed up, but a congested third contest likely will choose two finalists.

_Scattered U.S. House primaries, including two involving incumbent congressmen. The hottest race, though, the 8th District, involves no primary for either the Republican freshman incumbent, Dave Reichert, or his Democratic challenger, Darcy Burner.

_Assorted legislative primaries. In a handful of one-party districts, the nomination for open seats will be tantamount to election.

Neither Cantwell nor McGavick faces a big-name challenger and both have been waging their general election campaign for months. Polls suggest a potentially tight finish, but Cantwell still leads in a state that trends Democratic.

McGavick, 48, who once ran the campaign of the veteran senator that Cantwell edged from office six years ago, Slade Gorton, is called one of his party's blue-chip challengers.

McGavick was recently in the news for revealing that he was cited for drunken driving more than a decade ago. He said he blew a .17 on the blood-alcohol meter. He was fined, ordered to take alcohol education classes and was on probation for a year. McGavick also described other personal and political shortcomings.

Democrats pounced on his confessions and said he still has more questions to answer about his days as head of Safeco Insurance and for his campaign tactics. McGavick criticized that reaction and said people are tired of negative politicians.

The centerpiece of his campaign is a unique issue — civility — and at times he's running against his own president and GOP congressional leaders.

He has five little known competitors in the Sept. 19 primary, and has enjoyed the backing of state and national party leaders since he jumped into the race last fall. He left a lucrative job as head of Seattle-based insurance company Safeco, taking with him an exit package of $28 million. He has dumped $2 million of his own money into the race so far.

Cantwell, meanwhile, had to fend off a challenge from anti-war activists who were furious with her vote for the Iraq invasion and her long-standing refusal to call her vote a mistake.

But she neutralized a big source of that opposition by hiring her most persistent critic as an "outreach" staffer to the anti-war community. He dropped his challenge and took the $8,000-a.m.onth offer.

In recent days, Cantwell has said if she knew then what she knows now, she wouldn't have voted to authorize the war — a position McGavick previously announced. Cantwell said the U.S. should begin shifting responsibility to the Iraqis for their own security and begin bringing troops home this year.

Cantwell has four Democratic competitors.

Three of the 14 Senate candidates, the Green Party nominee, an independent and the Libertarian Party nominee, won't appear on the primary ballot. They were nominated at conventions and will appear first on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Two incumbent congressmen, Republican Doc Hastings in the 4th and Democrat Jim McDermott in the 7th, face primary challenges, and the opposition also has a primary in both districts. Both incumbents are favored in November. Challengers have primaries in some of the other districts.

The Legislature has scattered primaries, including some in districts where the nomination is tantamount to victory — such as open seats in Democratic Seattle or Republican redoubts in Eastern Washington.

Democrats expected to retain their majorities in both chambers, perhaps expanding their margins.

Seven of the 24 Senate incumbents on the ballot have no challenger in either party, as do 28 incumbents in the House.

Two Supreme Court races will be decided in the primary because a candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote advances alone to the November ballot.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander is challenged by Bellevue property-rights advocate John Groen. Alexander, who has served on the superior court, appeals bench and high court for more than 30 years, is backed by labor and business. Groen has a variety of conservative backers and is endorsed by the Building Industry Association of Washington.

Justice Tom Chambers is opposed by Jeanette Burrage, a former state House member and King County Superior Court judge who is a favorite of the right.

The third high court race could require both elections to settle. Justice Susan Owens is challenged by four attorneys, including two Johnsons and a Smith. Backers of state Sen. Stephen Johnson, R-Kent, speculate that the other candidates entered the race to confuse voters and dilute his strength. Unless someone gets 50 percent, the top two will advance to the November ballot.

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On the Net:

Election info: http://www.vote.wa.gov