Slade Gorton’s message for Eastern Washington remains truer than ever | Guest Opinion

Try to imagine the horror that swept Seattle on Oct. 27, 1986, when U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton paid a campaign visit to the Tri-Cities. At a Pasco Chamber of Commerce luncheon, the Republican incumbent held up a “Proud of Hanford” bumper sticker he had been handed, and declared he was proud of Hanford, too.

In a race that made Hanford the central issue, that photo alone, carried on the AP wires and reprinted in Seattle-area newspapers, may have been enough to tip the race. A week later, Gorton lost his bid for re-election by two percentage points. What happened next was really one of the most significant developments in our state’s political history, and a moment of empowerment for Eastern Washington and the Tri-Cities.

Gorton died Aug. 19 at age 92, after a career of many accomplishments. The Tri-Cities have special reason to pay tribute. In a time when the divide between east and west was becoming one of the most striking features of Washington state politics, Gorton picked our side. It made him a hero in this part of the state, and in all the other regions that found themselves under siege.

In the Tri-Cities, the issue was Hanford, as the activists of Seattle campaigned to shut down weapons-materials production and pretty much everything else at the reservation that kept the Tri-Cities employed. The coastal region was inflamed by the shutdown of logging for the spotted owl, from which the region has never fully recovered. Everywhere it seemed there was something to offend the activists of the state’s largest metropolitan area, from the submarine bases of the Kitsap Peninsula to the dam-and-irrigation projects of Eastern Washington. Those of us who lived in Washington state’s “flyover country” seethed with fully-justifiable resentment.

Back then, the conventional wisdom was that statewide candidates could see all the votes they needed from the deck of the Space Needle. They could safely ignore the hinterland beyond. But after that humbling 1986 defeat, Gorton became the first to recognize this “Cascade Curtain” was a potent issue. In his memorable comeback campaign for Senate in 1988, Gorton positioned himself as the champion for the disenfranchised regions of the state. For his kickoff, he hit every city big enough for a daily newspaper.

Gorton spoke of the arrogance of Seattle’s activist class, and of the people everywhere else who were less concerned with ideology than in putting food on the table and preserving their way of life. His opponent, Democrat Mike Lowry, proved Gorton’s point by running ads denouncing the “bomb factory” at Hanford. That was enough for the Tri-Cities. Gorton won 80 percent of the vote in Benton and Franklin counties, enough to put him over the top. Gorton became the first candidate to lose King County yet win statewide. Seattle, of course, was aghast.

Gorton never forgot those who returned him to D.C. He opened district offices in the state’s smaller cities, including the Tri-Cities. On Hanford issues, he followed the lead of TRIDEC and congressmen Sid Morrison and Doc Hastings — he often joked there was always something that required his attention. In 1994, Gorton carried the Tri-Cities by just as large a margin, and again it delivered him the win.

Other facets of Gorton’s career have been highlighted by many. But the central message of Gorton’s 1988 and 1994 campaigns is of more significance today than ever.

Beyond the King County line lies an entire state, Gorton said, with issues and concerns every bit as valid as those of Seattle. Today the trends he identified have become even more pronounced. The central Puget Sound area has become almost entirely blue, and the rest of the state, outside a few urbanized areas, has become almost entirely red. As Gorton said, a candidate from one area who ignores the interests of the other Washington does so at his or her peril.

This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 4:00 AM.