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Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi speaks at a news conference with his wife, Terry, at his campaign headquarters Wednesday in Redmond, Wash. Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press

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Rossi concedes, congratulates Gregoire

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 6:56 PM PST

By Rachel La Corte
The Daily News

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OLYMPIA — Republican Dino Rossi conceded his hotly contested rematch against Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday, acknowledging that while the results from the election probably will tighten, it won't be enough for him to win.

At a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Redmond, Rossi said the quick conclusion to the race, contrasted to when he last faced off with Gregoire four years ago, is "a good thing."

Rossi said he called Gregoire to congratulate her Wednesday morning.

Gregoire declared victory Tuesday night after early returns had her ahead, but Rossi initially said he wanted to see later returns.

With about 57 percent of the expected ballots counted Wednesday, Gregoire had more than 53 percent of the vote, or 887,961 votes, to Rossi's 47 percent, or 776,777 votes.

"This is one of the most gratifying days I've had in four years," Gregoire said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Gregoire said her win was "a reinforcement of all of the hard work that we've put in, and all of the partnerships that we've formed in the last four years."

Gregoire won the 2004 contest by the closest percentage margin of any governor's race in U.S. history — just 133 votes out of about 2.8 million cast, after two recounts and an unsuccessful Republican court challenge.

Rossi said he'll return to the business world and has "absolutely no intention of running for any political office at this point in time."

He offered his services to Gregoire, but also reminded supporters that Gregoire made a promise not to raise taxes, and voters have a right to hold her to that promise.

Gregoire was ahead Wednesday in 15 of the state's 39 counties, including seven counties she lost in 2004.

That included Snohomish County, which she lost by 6,400 votes in 2004. With more than half of that county's vote counted Wednesday morning, Gregoire was leading Rossi by more than 20,000 votes.

Four years ago, Rossi took an early lead on Election Night, and was ahead 681 votes at the end of the night. Gregoire jumped ahead of him in the following days, but 15 days after Election Day, it appeared he had beaten Gregoire by 261 votes. A machine recount narrowed the lead to just 42 votes.

A second recount, done by hand and paid for by state Democrats, put Gregoire ahead by 129 votes. Rossi sued, but Gregoire was inaugurated and the court challenge ultimately failed, although the judge threw out four illegally cast votes for Rossi, raising Gregoire's margin of victory to 133.

"I think people came into this race with the frame of mind of the last race," independent pollster Stuart Elway said. "Everyone expected it to be a 133-vote race, but it was never going to be that."

Cornell Clayton, professor of political science at Washington State University, said he had expected Gregoire to have a more decisive victory than 2004, but was still surprised by the large margin of victory she had.

Democratic President-elect Barack Obama easily captured Washington state's 11 electoral votes Tuesday, and his popularity here, along with the surge in new voters, may have been key to her success.

"I think it's all due to the higher turnout and the Obama phenomena," Clayton said.

Another thing that was different between this year and 2004 was the absence of a third party candidate to siphon votes.

In 2004, Libertarian Ruth Bennett got more than 2 percent of the vote in November, about 63,000 votes.

Voting began in mid-October. Because the vast majority of voters cast mail ballots, many of which come in on or after Election Day, many were expecting that a final result might not have been known for days.

But Matt Barreto, a political scientist at the University of Washington, said Gregoire did much better this time in Eastern Washington, and in swing counties like Pierce and Snohomish.

Rossi and Gregoire raised more than $20 million combined in the most expensive election in Washington history. That amount doesn't include the millions spent by third-party groups on TV ads and mailers, most of them negative in tone.

"It was a difficult race, no question about it," Gregoire said Wednesday. "It is time for us to put that behind us, absolutely behind us. It's time for us to unite as one Washington and move forward."

Now that the race is over, Rossi said he plans to tackle a to-do list that includes cleaning out his garage, and, on a positive note, the quick decision means, "I'm going to be home for dinner tonight."

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JoeShmo wrote on Nov 5, 2008 10:48 AM:

" SHE NEEDS TO CLEAN UP HER OWN MESS ANYWAY. "

jibjab123 wrote on Nov 5, 2008 11:21 AM:

" Nah nah nah nah. Nah nah nah nah. Hey hey hey. GOODBYE!!! "

Common Sense 24 wrote on Nov 5, 2008 11:33 AM:

" JoeShmo: Very true. Unfortunately, we will be the ones to pay for it, and dearly so. "

Oz wrote on Nov 5, 2008 11:40 AM:

" What's he going to tell us, how Gregoire cheated him again? Maybe he needs to turn his eyes around and look within? From where I am he looks too much like a snake oil salesman to get my vote. Sorry slick Dino. "

cheney119 wrote on Nov 5, 2008 11:53 AM:

" Will this make the end times come sooner 24? Good Gravey! I wonder why you even bother reading the newspaper, don't throw your pearls before swine. "

Mr. Bastinado wrote on Nov 5, 2008 11:55 AM:

" I just watched his concession speach on live feed. In fact, I TIVO'd it, as I know that there'll eventually be dark days in my life when it'll seem that there's no purpose to life (like at the loss of a parent or child), but then I'll be able to reply Dino grovelling and I know I'll once again be able to smile.... "

Rural Citizen wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:05 PM:

" Thanks to the people who voted for Governor Gregoire. Our state will not be handed over to the oil men from Texas... and Wyoming... and Alaska.

Washington State will remain free. "

sammy wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:06 PM:

" If everyone is so anti Gregoire, how did she get re-elected? Perhaps all the Rossi supporters were so busy bad mouthing her, they forgot to vote. "

AmericanGirl wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:10 PM:

" Wow Queen B has another 4 yrs to see if she can double the deficit, nice going dems. "

TheGenius wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:11 PM:

" At least there was no repeat of that mess four years ago. Alright, Governor, you have another four years. There are a lot of us who expect and demand you serve this state the best way possible. Those who did not vote for you again did not fancy your first four years and are not looking foward to your next four years. Prove us wrong. "

Nunesy wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:14 PM:

" I thought Rossi got screwed in the first election. Now, I guess, Gregoire is for real. Good luck to her. "

Louie wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:22 PM:

" I am glad he has conceded and will not seek another Govern-ship. Its time he gave up the fight and moved on. "

uglyamerican wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:23 PM:

" Yes we will certainly remain 'free' for another four years, and continue to enjoy the poorest selection of health care insurance in the country, while spreading the limited state wealth to the have-nots.

Too much political in-breeding in this state. What we need is three or four generations of new residents from midwestern or eastern states, instead of those from Oregon and California. "

GT SHT EM wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:26 PM:

" wheres my suicide pills Iam going to need them. "

JoeShmo wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:42 PM:

" It won't feel like free when we start paying income tax. "

JoeShmo wrote on Nov 5, 2008 12:45 PM:

" Sammy, It didn't have anything to do with our votes from Cowlitz county. It's thr transplant Californians in Seattle fault. "

old bag wrote on Nov 5, 2008 1:00 PM:

" Dino had 23 more counties than CG. BUT in King County (where her friends had Dino taken off the campaign) she beat him by $110,660 votes (so far) Her margin of "victory" was only $114,743 (so far). Does that reveal something? Only in her corner of the State (except Spokane Co) did the voters want her to return. I can't blame King Co....most of them work for her and she just gave them a hefty raise. Heaven help us all. "

kelsograd wrote on Nov 5, 2008 1:01 PM:

" as stated before, while the majority always rules, it is not always wise. "

jtj110 wrote on Nov 5, 2008 1:10 PM:

" 4 more years of lies "

CRfisherman wrote on Nov 5, 2008 1:22 PM:

" Welcome to 4 more years of spending money she doesn't have. So if it's $3.4 billion now.....what will it be in 2012? "

Mr. Bastinado wrote on Nov 5, 2008 1:25 PM:

" Dearest Old Bag, your prayer, "Heaven help us all" has already been answered. Ratface Rossi has been vanquished. Get used to it. "

old bag wrote on Nov 5, 2008 1:42 PM:

" that should be 114,773. No $. Sorry. Working...while I still have a job. "

Gondolapete wrote on Nov 5, 2008 2:07 PM:

" Rossi won in more counties than Chrissy did...of course the dems will claim that King county is a true representation of how the state thinks..and Rossi won cowlitz county which is shocking, but encouraging...you dems will get exactly what you deserve both statewide and federal...I predict it will be at the end of January when Obama reveals his tax plan and health care plan will have to be scrapped..... "

TDN Bad Boy wrote on Nov 5, 2008 2:09 PM:

" Good job Dino. Hold your head high, and know that you took the high road in victory in 2004 and defeat this time. Too bad the Liberals can't be as gracious. It is going to be very interesting to see how Da Tax Queen and her Liberal minions dig us out of the projected $3.2 billion deficit she has dug us into with her "partnerships." (wink, wink, under the table handshakes with the campaign-feeding state unions). As Dino said, she promised no tax increases or new taxes. She did in 2004 and we saw how long that lasted. My guess is we can bet that she will see the writing on the wall about her spending policies and she knows that feed her spending habit she will need tax dollars. Anyone wanna bet that in the next 4 years we see the Liberals in Olympia try to push some kind of state income tax through the Legislature? I will also bet that as fast as they try, there will be a state initiative prohibiting a state income tax. So go ahead Tax Queen, make my day. "

Mr. Bastinado wrote on Nov 5, 2008 2:27 PM:

" Hey Bad Boy, I'll bet you're gonna have trouble getting rid of all those Rossi signs you have. They're so poisonous that even the dump wouldn't take that kind of toxic waste. Maybe you can burn them in your fireplace for heat as you make it sound like you wont be able to pay your PUD bill. Too bad....Like I said before, some people are just better at doing business than others.... "

CR RES. wrote on Nov 5, 2008 2:29 PM:

" HERE WE GO MORE TAXES ON THE WAY. "

PanDering wrote on Nov 5, 2008 2:58 PM:

" Kelso grad
What world do you live in? In the real world successful ventures are the result of someone having a "better idea" or a better candidate" than someone else. TO support that concept a team of marketers, and enthusiastic supporters work (for almost 5 years) to convince the majority of this "better idea".
In this case the "idea" in question was if candidate Rossi was a better idea, a more skilled candidate, than the presently seated Governor?
If I am not mistaken there were a lot of people working to get Rossi elected, not once, but twice. Both times they have failed to convince the majority of the wisdom of that proposal. Why is that??? "

TDN Bad Boy wrote on Nov 5, 2008 3:18 PM:

" RE: PanDering -- I could give you 50 reasons but in the wake of the election they would be excuses. So no excuses. Da Tax Queen won. Let's just sit back and watch how she digs us out of that $3.2 billion budget deficit she has heading into (which by the way is probably going to be closer to $4 billion when the revenues come in). Let's sit back and see how she lowers the unemployment rate in Cowlitz County, which under Da Tax Queen is now almost 10 percent (up several points sent she took office). I can't wait to see how this plays out. Does she raise taxes and eliminate more jobs? She has no execuses this time. No Bush. And of course there are no Republicans in control of the state house and senate or the federal house and senate. It's all Liberals, so come Tax Queen, wave your wand and show us some magic. You've got no excuses now. You can't play the blame game. Show us how good you are. "

Gondolapete wrote on Nov 5, 2008 3:22 PM:

" County by county, the majority did vote for Rossi..you dems better learn how to do a demographic breakdown before you start claiming "the masses have spoken".. "

Gondolapete wrote on Nov 5, 2008 3:44 PM:

" Another thing the dems should also worry about, is the fact Rossi still had almost 650,000 people vote for him...for such a blue state and the GOP being at a low point, that would worry me as a dem... "

TheGenius wrote on Nov 5, 2008 3:53 PM:

" Gondolapete- That's an interesting way to look at it. That Rossi was able to get as many votes as he did should not be overlooked by the RNC when the midterm and 2012 elections roll around. There is a solid conservative base in the state and I suspect it will grow in the next four years. "

Mr. Bastinado wrote on Nov 5, 2008 4:09 PM:

" Hey Bad Boy, ya know, on second thought, I wouldn't be so fast to heat my home with those Rossi signs if I were you. The BIAoW is gonna be pretty angry that they pissed mondo-millions down the pipes for nothing. After all, they bought all that paper, and they might want it back (just to have something to show their members). Not only that, but Dino is such an egomaniacle ankle-biter that I'm sure he'll try again in 2012, so they might come in handy again. I remember some fatherly advise that I was given at an early age. My dad said, "Son, it's a wise man that realizes the party's over when he's been handed his hat and shown the door". Apparently, the voters of this state have handed him his hat, and shown him the door. Hopefully for all, he'll finally figure out what we mean. "

rainbird wrote on Nov 5, 2008 4:16 PM:

" Too the Whinning Republican Losers.

Quit your bitching and get with the program. Time to melt the ice around your hearts and show some compassion. Start to think globally or your going to be miserable for the next 8 years. "

allaboutschools wrote on Nov 5, 2008 4:33 PM:

" Hooray for the Governor! Four more years of positive growth for schools! "

educateyourself wrote on Nov 5, 2008 4:37 PM:

" Wait, so Rossi does the honorable thing and accepts defeat, but yet all democrats and liberals can do is continue to call republicans names? Funny how republicans are the bad guys, and yet a liberal can do nothing wrong. I thought democrats and the liberals were the ones being called names, and republicans were running "dirty" campaign. I thought dems and libs were going to unite this state and country, but yet names like "Ratface Rossi" and comparing him to "poison and evil" is ok. How is that uniting our country? Why should I stand side by side with someone who backstabs me? How am I supposed to unite with someone who has just given the government more control over my life than any other time in our history? We as individuals, not the "masses" as were are refered to now, will wake up from this nightmare and realize that bigger govt means smaller individuals. We will realize that this bitterness and blame game does nothing but drive us deeper into contempt and hatred. IT MUST STOP NOW! If you want to unite our country, reach out and welcome those that oppose your view and discuss with them to learn, and make yourself better, not your close mindeness that makes your sound ignorant. "

Doug McCratch wrote on Nov 5, 2008 4:38 PM:

" BWA-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!! Now these people who've been whining for four years that Gregoire "stole" the election can find something else to grouse about. "

Gondolapete wrote on Nov 5, 2008 5:05 PM:

" To TheGenius, America as a whole is conservative..us that are actually educated in how the political system works understand that its not the GOP that is harming this country, its the GOP not standing up to the ultra libs in the house and senate that is harming this country..Obama was not elected by a majority of leftwingers.. Obama was elected by a majority of moderates who lean right,and think he will fix things, they do not actually study the candidates they vote for..they will not get their wish,and in 2010 as you stated, the midterms will turn the tide again... "

bucketball wrote on Nov 5, 2008 7:12 PM:

" Gondolapete- You say Obama was not elected by a majority of leftwingers. So in that case who did the leftwingers vote for then? It certainly was not McCain. Especially since the registered Democrat voters came out in record numbers. Seems to me people did study and candidates and found Obama actually had plan for the economy and how to create new jobs. McCain on the other hand I would try to listen for for a plan he supossedly had about anything but every speech and rally he spent the time attacking Obama's character which was a complete failure. McCain told at least one lie every day throughout his campaign. Whether it be Obama is connected to terror or socialism or whatever they could think of. The same guy who supported Bush to go into Iraq for WMD's or wait they now call it the War On Terror or did you Repubs forget? Seems kinda convienent don't you think? What do mean that the GOP didn't stand up to the ultra libs in the house and senate? They really didn't even need to since they were the majority most of the Bush Administration. "

Gondolapete wrote on Nov 6, 2008 1:39 AM:

" Buckethead..please re-read what I wrote..i dont have time to detail it out again.. "

2fedup wrote on Nov 6, 2008 8:31 AM:

" Gondolapete- Where is it you educated yourself about how the political system works and studied the canidates, your John Birch Society newsletter? Or was it the Uncle Sam sign in Chehalis . "

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