Washington State Wire
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Washington State Wire is an independent nonpartisan news gathering organization focusing on the Washington state government and the policies that affect Washington residents' daily lives. We're an independent, policy agnostic, and non-partisan outlet for thoughtful content about state policy, political economy, and regulated markets.
Washington State Wire
1y ago
This is the time of year that our focus shifts from the bare-knuckle fights in the political arena to the subtler gamesmanship of policy-making. To launch that season, we’re holding the Re-Wire Conference on Dec. 5 at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma. In the next few editions, we’re going to preview the players and policies ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
After the August primary, Democrats had reason to be worried about winning in Whatcom County’s 42nd Legislative District, where they were trying to unseat a Republican senator and hold two Democratic House seats considered among the most vulnerable in the state. They finished with less than 50 percent of the primary vote in all three ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
In these polarized times, players in Washington politics mostly back one party or the other. And even for those few who play both sides of the aisle, what the Realtors are doing in Snohomish County’s 44th District is unusual. They’re supporting the Republican candidate in one of the district’s two state House seats, and the ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
In general, an incumbent polling at less than 50 percent is considered to be in significant danger of getting unelected. So what to make of the second poll in less than a month that puts Secretary of State Steve Hobbs not just below 50 percent, but under 40 percent? The latest number was in a ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
There’s a new skirmish in the ongoing legal fight against the capital gains tax. A conservative legal advocacy group is threatening to take the Department of Revenue to court because the department is writing rules to implement the tax even though it was ruled unconstitutional earlier this year. Read the rest in The Sunday Observer ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
The payoff of one of this year’s more entertaining election-year ploys happened this week when the price of driving a car across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge decreased by 75 cents. The reduction is the handiwork of Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, with a strong assist from Senate Transportation Chair Marko Liias and their colleagues in the ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
I spent the last couple of weeks kinda-sorta keeping track of things from one of the more remote corners of Europe, so I largely missed Gov. Jay Inslee’s jaunt to a different corner of that continent. But as I was catching up, I was struck by how little ink Inslee got for his trade mission ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
Campaign cash is just gushing through the Legislature’s surplus-funds loophole this month. Since the Aug. 3 primary, more than $2.3 million has moved from prominent lawmakers’ largely nonexistent reelection campaigns into the hard-money political action committees controlled by the leaders of the four caucuses. In the months ahead, look for those millions to get funneled ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
In last week’s Morning Wire, we reserved the right to be wrong because of Washington’s uniquely late-breaking election results. We might need that reservation if Trump-backed challenger Joe Kent pulls ahead of incumbent U.S. Rep. Jaime Hererra Beutler in southwest Washington’s 3rd District. There was a substantial shift toward Kent in the vote counted late ..read more
Washington State Wire
1y ago
We’re hearing from operatives on both sides of the aisle that this is likely to be a big year for Republican candidates for the Legislature, perhaps big enough that Democrats will lose control of one or both chambers. So today we’re looking at what that might mean, and a parallel campaign to give those would-be ..read more