Our Voice: Republicans recognize rural votes matter

With Eastern Washington leaning more red than blue, we’ve always thought votes cast here mattered. It’s obvious that more people live in Western Washington where blue is the dominant color, and that they can overtake an election quite easily by sheer volume.

The GOP will hold its state convention in May at TRAC in Pasco, and state party officials say they chose the location to show that strong voter turnout from rural voters can make a difference statewide.

With 1,500 people expected to attend, the event will be a nice blip on the economic impact scale for the region. It wasn’t expected to be a particularly lively event but with the race for presidential candidates so volatile this year, Washington — the state — could be of more interest to those vying for the national party’s nod.

Republicans across the nation are struggling to unite in their support of a single candidate. The front-runner to date is Donald Trump but some folks just can’t stomach the idea of his brand of bluster as our nation’s leader. And the candidates are not playing nice with each other, making more of a spectacle than a sparring match on the issues.

So if the party doesn’t have a strong favorite by May we may see some of the candidates rolling through Pasco to preach to the faithful. At least that would be entertaining. We’d love to see the candidates shaking hands in The Dugout and at Cousin’s.

The state party chairwoman is Susan Hutchison, a former news anchor in Seattle and candidate for King County executive. She is not from the rural side of the state, but she is a Republican, braving that distinction in a sea of West-side Democrats.

According to Hutchison, there are a few more registered Republican voters in the state than Democrats. But Democrats tend to have better voter turnout for elections. The thinking is that Republicans could dominate if they turned out in better numbers.

But it is funny how even the best-intentioned Republicans are out of touch with the realities of Eastern Washington. The Tri-Cities may be rural in their eyes, but the people here don’t lack in political savvy or diversity. Voter turnout in the last presidential election was 82.6 percent in Benton County and 77.6 percent in Franklin County. Statewide, the average was 81.

We saw just how close an election can be in our state with the 2004 governor’s race. Ballots had to be counted three times before Democrat Christine Gregoire was declared the winner by 130 votes over Republican Dino Rossi.

Rural votes did count but came up just a bit short. Some folks still aren’t over it.

Time and time again we see initiatives pass statewide that did not pass locally. Again, so-called rural votes count but not if people don’t send their ballots back. It’s simple, our votes don’t count if we don’t cast them.

We’re thankful that the Republicans have given Pasco a chance to host the convention. And it’s nice to hear there are west-side political figures in high places admit they need our side of the state.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Republicans recognize rural votes matter."