Last week’s Moore Information Group poll has each candidate with 46 percent of the vote and 8 percent undecided
Lawrence Wilson
The Center Square
Washington’s Senate race is a dead heat as incumbent Patty Murray, D-Bothell, and political newcomer Tiffany Smiley, R-Pasco, are tied at 46% each with 8% undecided according to a poll by Moore Information Group the week before Tuesday’s general election
Murray, who has represented the Evergreen State since 1993, easily won the state’s open primary this year with 52% of the vote to Smiley’s 34%. However, the five-term senator has been losing ground to her challenger throughout the season.
A September Moore poll Murray showed leading Smiley by 48% to 44%. A Trafalgar Group poll released Oct. 28 showed Murray leading Smiley by just over 1 percentage point, while a same-day poll from KHQ-TV and The Spokesman-Review showed Murray with a lead of 5 percentage points, which is within the poll’s margin of error.
The race has drawn national attention as the Senate is now evenly divided between both parties. Republicans are hopeful of taking control of the upper chamber by flipping one or more seats in this midterm election. If Smiley were to win, she would become the first Republican to represent Washington in the Senate for over 20 years, the last being Slade Gordon, who lost to Maria Cantwell in 2000.
Murray, 72, and Smiley, 41, squared off in a town hall meeting in Seattle on Oct. 30, having met in their sole debate a week prior in Spokane.
During the hourlong town hall broadcast by KIRO 7, Smiley characterized Murray as an entrenched member of the Washington, D.C., establishment who has lost touch with the people.
“Sen. Murray is not the mom in tennis shoes anymore,” Smiley said. “We cannot afford another six years going forward.”
Murray questioned whether Smiley — a former triage nurse and mother of three who has highlighted her advocacy for her husband, Scotty, a military veteran who was blinded in an explosion while serving in Iraq in 2005 — was up to the job of being a U.S. Senator.
“She’s really good at describing a problem,” Murray said. “Anybody can describe a problem. A legislator is someone who can take those issues, go to work in D.C., and pass legislation that I have passed.”
Beyond that, the two sparred over the economy, crime, education and abortion, each candidate taking a party-line stance.
Voting in Washington is done primarily by mail over an 18-day period ending on Nov. 8. The registration deadline for voter registration expired on Oct. 31. In person voting is also available at voting centers, both for early voting and voting on Nov. 8. Details are available at https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/.
This story was first published by The Center Square Washington.
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Under the faltering leadership of long-term Democrats President Biden (80), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (82), and Washington Senator Patty Murray (72) who has lived mostly in Washington DC for 30 years, Washington state residents have suffered loss of jobs, businesses, health, and freedoms.
Reckless government spending has resulted in escalating inflation. Interest rates are repeatedly hiked by the federal reserve, crushing business growth and potential home- buyers. Both state and federal taxes are going up, and 87,000 New IRS agents will be hired to collect them.
Severe supply chain failures have crippled industries, and a pending diesel fuel crisis due to mounting regulations is on the horizon. Higher taxes on US energy production under the Democrat “Inflation Reduction Act” have led to gas prices doubling over the last 2 years. State democrats have voted in a 49 cents/gallon gas tax hike to take effect in January, 2023.
In 2022, Murray and most of the democrat senators voted for H.R. 3755, that specifically states that the right to abortion “shall not be limited or otherwise infringed.” The vote narrowly failed. HR 3755 would have allowed abortion providers to determine whether a pregnancy is considered “viable” or not, effectively enabling abortions at any point, even of an infant 9-months old. Smiley, who is pro-life, spoke in debates about leaving abortion laws to the states and helping pregnant mothers facing challenges to get the support they need when they choose life for their baby.