Public Policy Polling has released polling results in the 2012 Washington state gubernatorial race. Their press release gets right to the point:
McKenna, Inslee basically tied for WA Gov.
[…]The most likely match up for Governor of Washington next year looks like it would be a barn burner, with Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna starting out with just a 40-38 lead over Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee. With 23% of Democrats and only 13% of Republicans undecided at this point that looks like a sheer toss up.
The main reason McKenna is ahead of Inslee at this point is slightly higher name recognition.
(The same poll finds Inslee beating Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA-08) handily, 42% to 36%.)
McKenna is the more recognized brand right now, with 60% of respondents having formed an opinion of him, whereas only 51% have formed an opinion on Inslee.
What I found interesting in the crosstabs is that, in a McKenna—Inslee match-up, groups likely to support Inslee have higher “uncertain” responses:
- Liberals 31%, conservatives 28%
- Women 25%, men 18%
- Democrats 23%, Republicans 13%
- 18-29 year olds 24%, about 13% for older voters
Thus it seems support for Inslee has the greater growth potential as name recognition improves.
I guess I’m one of those for whom Inslee is a lesser-known quantity. All I can say is that I can’t stand the thought of McKenna being governor, so hope only at this point that Inslee doesn’t mess it up.
Yes just what we need a Gregoire incarnated. Get some new leadership that will cut the damn spending spree. Take Chris Christie’s lead!
@2 What spending spree? Washington voters have given themselves billions of dollars of tax breaks. Jackasses like you won’t be satisfied until there are no public services left. I suspect your motive is that you hope when your neighbors call Elder Abuse on you there won’t be anyone at the other end to answer.
McKenna’s only hope is to sell himself to voters as a “moderate,” which, of course is as phony as a three-dollar bill.
@2
Inslee’s far from it.
Inslee is nothing more than a liberal talking head. What has he done but rubber stamp 4 trillion in new spending in the last 2 yrs in washington. Nuf said…
And Yes, I am for cutting State employees, wages, benefits, and retirement funds back to thos of the private sector, preferably contractor benefits!
@ 6
So, you are just another anti-government psycho then. You don’t think people should be paid for their work? Contractors make diddley squat, and they don’t get benefits.
I can hardly wait till the WSP notices your cardboard license plates.
Mckenna will butcher the schools and then want to build a formula 1 racetrack at citizens expense, just like that fuckin corrupt retard in Texas.
Have you tried finding a real job these days? You won’t. You’ll find a contract job. With no benefits.
What makes you think your cadillac benefits will remain untouched, when everyone elses are getting destroyed.
Are you so delusional that you really believe this mess will not touch government?….better look around..take the blinders off your ears and eyes..
The freight train of debt is roaring full speed over the cliff!
@ 8
And who created that debt? The GOP came into power in 1981 promising smaller government. Then it expanded govrnments reach and responsibility. It reduced taxation, sure, but the Government still needed to function, so instead of paying its way by taxing the citizens, it changed to a system that borrowed from China and Germany and Brazil. Then it CUT taxes on Corporations, and actually directly subsidizing the closures of factories and their moving operations to China, who is OUR ENEMY. China is not a friendly nation.
Thats the GOP Fascist party and their collaborators in the Democratic party that did that, pal. While liberals and lefties were screaming from the rooftops about how fucking WRONG it was, you “conservatives” (fascists) were cheering the wholesale destruction of our economy and the selling off of critical domestic assets to the fucking Chinese and Japanese. All for the sake of that sacred, priceless dollar.
It ain’t so priceless now is it, cheesedick?
You mean cancel the tunnel project and put the state on the hook to repay federal funds already invested?
# 8: So you are having a hard time finding a job with benefits? I understand, and I sympathise.
Employers have been getting away with that for quite some time. Originally, employers were encouraged to give benefits to employees by making them deductable to the employer as long as they were “non-discriminatory” (i.e., the employer couldn’t deduct health insurance premium costs as long as the same or similar coverage was available to employees). But employers started getting around this by only making their higher management “employees”, and everyone else “contract personnel”.
They got away with this because of decisions made by the tax court allowing this during the Reagan and Bush I administrations, and judges appointed by them who were “business-friendly”. Once Bush II was in office, businesses throttled full-forward on the strategy, confident there would be no blow-back from the administration.
It could be remedied rather simply by some slight changes to the tax code, but the Republicans in Congress aren’t going to allow that – they will do anything their big-business mentors tell them to do.
But in the meantime, please note that your own personal problems are being caused by the policies of the party you support, and try to avoid insisting that if things are bad for you, everybody else should be brought down to your level as well.
I’m pretty sure that a poll for a non-existent doesn’t mean much.
People forget that the ability to win an elections is a skill-set, just like rebuilding an engine or flying a plane. Having the skill-set doesn’t mean you’ll win, but a skilled team going up against an un or lesser skilled one can win elections that polling and demographics say they shouldn’t win. If you don’t believe me ask the woman that lost Teddy Kennedy’s seat to Scott Brown or Denny “The Dinosaur” Heck.
@8
So rather than work to get people back to regular employment with decent benefits you’d rather work to destroy the jobs of those who still have secure employment and a livable wage. Nice.
…you and your buddies are drivin’ it, assklown.
I participated in this robocall poll.
Governor Gregoire seems ready to retire or finish her career in the nations capitol. She at least was capable of decision.
I can think of worse choices for a future governor of our state but the three mentioned in this article will not provide meaningful, positive leadership for a better tomorrow. They are absolutely incapable of leading.
GOP and Demo kingmakers will provide us with another “least of two evils” choice for four years of rudderless misery.
In lieu of a fair lottery selection ala Arthur C. Clarke I can only hope (Jeez!) that an energetic dark horse hits the campaign trail, is elected and doesn’t sell us down the river.
@7
Your comment is mean-spirited and reflects how disconnected you are from your fellow human being because what you propose will adversely and maybe even irreparably affect the lives and liveliehoods of tens of thousands of people. Perhaps a move to Wisconsin or Indiana or Pennsylvania or New Jersey is in your future as they would fit into your comfort zone.
McKenna is no better than Rossi when it comes to political agendas…he is a corporatist through and through in addition to being a pompous, dictatorial, self-serving politico who uses his office to bring recognition to his face via “public service announcements” of late…which is just one split-hair shy of being in violation of the Hatch Act.
If people will take the time to do their homework, they will find that Jay Inslee will serve the state of Washington fare and away much better than McKenna could even think of doing.
Jay Inslee has been my Congressman since he beat the odious Rick White. I have yet to see him take the wrong position on any issue. The more that the voters learn about Inslee, the better they will like him.
Inslee will win by a wide margain in a 2012 nationwide Democratic resurgence.
If you strolled past a pile of dog crap during your walk in the park would you talk about it for the next three hours? @2,6 & 8 are piles of dog crap.
but what will Inslee DO?
gregoire and other democrats are afraid to espouse a democratic message that we need higher taxes, to clsoe loopholes for corps, and big govt. is needed for a big economy and jobs for all. @8 whines about no jobs, well we had a great jobs program once. it was called ww2. we taxed up the wazoo, we borrowed and we fucking put every fucking person to work, and it worked, then we gave lots of them free education and other benefits and we prospered for decades and eisenhower had the sense to keep the high tax rates and it wsn’t till we got sold this reagan fraud that lower taxes create jobs that we wrecked the econommy thru lowering taxes and of course we have a huge deficit now but 2/23 of it is due solely to bush tax cuts and people like @8 whining in ignorance. shoving money at rich people doesn’t create jobs, the theory is ludicrous. guess what rich people do. when they create jobs? they do it to MAKE MOOLAH they don’t do it to give away moolah, so they will create jobs thru investing whether or not their damn tax rate is 33% or ohmugod36%.
Now if Jay Inslee would only epsouse a progressive vision for the state, I’d say woo hoo but so far at the state level all i see is gop lite on the democratic side. he has not espoused any plan to close tax loopholes so yes, he can win but so what? eymanism rules our state and democrats are in a fetal curl cowering in response.