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closeWednesday, Nov. 04, 2009
Republican Nealey takes solid lead over Grant
By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer
Democrats appeared to have lost their only foothold in rural Eastern Washington in preliminary results in the 16th District election released Tuesday night.
Republican challenger Terry Nealey had a solid lead over incumbent Rep. Laura Grant, D-Walla Walla, with 12,804 votes, or 58 percent. Grant had 9,287 votes, or 42 percent.
Grant was appointed to the seat in February after the death of her father, the late Rep. Bill Grant, from cancer.
Tuesday's election was to complete Bill Grant's term. The winner will stand for election again in 2010.
The district includes Walla Walla and Columbia counties, as well as Pasco and part of Kennewick.
The two candidates were virtually identical on the issues but ran campaigns based on their party affiliations. Voters in the conservative district appeared to have rejected Laura Grant's argument that Eastern Washington needs a voice in the majority Democratic party in Olympia.
Nealey said Tuesday that he thought his candidacy better aligned with voters' conservative values, although the preliminary tally in his favor was higher than he expected.
"I was surprised the margin was as much as it was," he said.
Grant did not return a message left on her cell phone Tuesday night.
The election was hard fought in recent weeks as Seattle special interest groups on both sides paid for mailers and television ads attacking each of the candidates.
Grant had to defend her votes on transportation and education, while it was implied Nealey had pocketed campaign cash and didn't support requiring insurance companies to pay for mammograms or cancer screenings.
While the third-party campaign materials contained slivers of truth, they omitted some pertinent facts, leading both candidates to say their positions had been misrepresented.
Nealey said he thought the election results reflected voters' dissatisfaction with the performance of majority Democrats in the recent legislative session, when they struggled to balance a budget with a $9 billion deficit.
"People are concerned about our budget woes and they are turning to the Republican Party to help resolve it," he said.
His first task in preparation for the legislative session in January will be to meet with Republican leaders to talk about a strategy for plugging a hole in the supplemental budget that is expected to exceed $1 billion.
The election will be certified Nov. 24.
-- Michelle Dupler: 582-1543; mdupler@tricityherald.com
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