Introducing Crosscut's Guvometer
Our enigmatic gauge of the Washington gubernatorial race.
As we head into the first debate between Democratic incumbent Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican former state Sen. Dino Rossi, the GOP challenger has led in three of four polls released this month, he has flooded the airwaves with ads that seem to be working, and the governor is confronting a likely $3.2 billion deficit for the coming biennium, which Rossi says is due to her policies. True or not, the governor is facing some heat on the campaign trail.
With all this in mind, the Crosscut Guvometer gives Rossi a two-point edge in its inaugural appearance.
The debate will be in Seattle on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 9 p.m. and can be seen on KOMO-TV (4) in Seattle, KXLY-TV (4) in Spokane, KEPR-TV (19) in the Tri-Cities, KIMA-TV (29) in Yakima, and KATU-TV (2) in Portland. We'll update the Guvometer afterward.
The Crosscut Guvometer is a sensitive instrument. While polling results can move the needle, the device also responds to all sorts of developments in the election campaign, including local and national news and fundraising. We'll let you know as the reading changes in coming weeks.
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Comments:
Posted Fri, Sep 19, 7:55 p.m. inappropriate
What moves the needle vs who owns the needle: I guess you could not have two little horses running toward a finish line.
Does the invisible hand that moves the needle belong to one, or a few of you, crosscutters?
Posted Sat, Sep 20, 10:59 a.m. inappropriate
That it was factually incorrect speaks for itself - that alone justifies a move of the dial.
That it was also maudlin and viscerally repulsive adds a nausea factor to it all that further justifies several more ticks to the right. Totally gross!
Christine Gregoire's legacy will be one of kiting checks to the tune of creating a $3.2 billion budget imbalance that she now seeks to blame on George W. Bush. Like, he was the one who ballooned state spending 33%, let the tribes walk off with $140 million in gaming money, and gave public employee unions carte blanche entry into the state treasury?
Move that dial, Chuck...move that dial!
And this time, my US Marine son refuses to be rooked out of his ballot, so there's another one for Dino.
The Piper
Posted Sat, Sep 20, 1:37 p.m. inappropriate
about lies & politics: I have found the public reaction, in general, to lies strangely satisfying. It looks like 8 years of Bush has had some impact on the public, lies are not as popular as they used to be.