Will a Democrat win in Washington’s 8th LD?

One of the Mid-Columbia races that has been interesting to me is the 8th LD race between Carol Moser and Brad Klippert.  Moser, the lone Democrat in the primary advanced to the general election despite a crowded field of Republicans, with roughly 40% .  And amongst those Republicans, social conservative Brad Klippert, despite being viewed as the least threat (and possibly the least qualified) and having virtually no fundraising, advanced to the general.

Here’s how the primary panned out:

The table begs a couple questions as we move toward the general election: Will Moser garner republican voters who don’t support front runner Klippert on the republican ticket, or will republicans flock to the party brand and elect him?

Moser has a moderate record and broad support among democrats and republicans alike so it would seem she has the best shot at this race.  Klippert, a social conservative, could gain some ground among voters who become familiar with him and place social issues above everything.  But moderate voters who generally vote republican could find Klippert unpalatable. For my money, it will be the social issue voter who will be most disappointed.  Klippert’s campaign is openly anti-everything from women’s choice to gay rights and voters appear to be tiring of dead end issues that never find any consensus or resolution.  Although he has scrubbed his website some of the more hard core language and trying to float himself to voters as a moderate, it should be pretty clear to anyone paying attention that Klippert is anything but.  And it was his 2006 Senate primary run against Mike McGavick that really explains what makes him tick.

I, Brad Klippert, am a husband and father. I am a full time law enforcement officer, a veteran and active Major/pilot in the U.S. Army National Guard. I have a Masters Degree in Teaching and I am a licensed minister.
I am a God fearing, Bible believing, Ten Commandment honoring, evangelical Christian candidate. I firmly stand for and fully support traditional family values; the committed marriage between a man and a woman/husband and wife.
I believe that every life is precious and valuable with great potential; including the life of unborn children.

[...]

In summation, I believe that there is a standard by which all will ultimately be judged. All is not relative. There are issues we are dealing with that are right or wrong and not simply subject to popular opinion or current trends. God’s word says, “There is a way that seems right unto men, but the end thereof leads to destruction.”

Or this gem in a recent Tri-City Herald article:

If elected, Klippert said he would look carefully at the budget to find ways to cut wasteful spending, just as if he were looking at his personal budget.

“If my wife was overspending our household budget, we’re going to sit down and talk about it and make a budget,” he said.

Pretty heavy stuff (perhaps especially for Mrs. Klippert).

It seemed most of the vocal republicans in this area were pulling for either Jansens or Novakovich in the primary and dismissing Klippert.  And Klippert really pulled off a coup winning the 2nd spot on the general election ballot.  And make no mistake about it, this seat is important, and despite the wincing I heard from Benton County Republican Chair after the primary on a KONA radio interview, the republican establishment is going to do everything they can to call the party faithful home.

And that would include some recent push polling.  Phones around the 8th district are being answered to the following questions:

Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for Carol Moser if you knew that Gregoire appointed her to serve on the Transportation Commission to represent Eastern Washington?
Would you be more of less likely to vote for Carol  if you knew that during her time on the Transportation Commission that Eastern Washington  got the lowest gas tax money of any region in the state?
Would you be more or less likely to vote for Carol if your knew that during her time on the Commission she never even once spoke up for more transportation funding in Eastern Washington.

These might be legitimate questions if they were… legitimate questions.  But Moser’s record suggests otherwise and she has proven herself in both her stint on the Richland City Council and the Washington State Transportation Commission where she worked on complicated transportation issues.  And with transportation being a key component of upcoming legislative sessions there is no doubt Carol Moser will be in the thick of those discussions.  And furthermore, if voters were to take the push poll at face value, they would be ignoring how transportation tax dollars are actually more evenly split than conventional wisdom would suggest.  Not until recent memory has transportation tax dollars tipped the scale to west side projects.  And overwhelmingly, with the 520 bridge and the Alaskan Way Viaduct looming on the horizon, it is the west side of this state that is truly in need.

It hasn’t been (and correct me if I’m wrong I have been corrected thank you… Tom Moak in the early 90’s.  I wasn’t around here much back then) since the mid 70’s that a Democrat has won a legislative seat in this district.  And I’m pretty sure it was my own Grandmother, Pat Cochrane, who did.  But perhaps now, in these extraordinary times, having the R next to your name on the ballot is less of a qualification than genuinely being qualified.  Either way, this is going to be an interesting race to watch.  But I think (and highly recommend) Carol Moser will have this one in the bag.

(http://www.carolmoser.com/contribute.html)