I was the recipient of a pretty interesting email that was forwarded to me yesterday. Written by someone within the state Democratic party, the party official was asked about who would be running for Congress here in the Fifth. The response was that the party would be asking Chris Marr to run for Congress. If he wasn’t willing to run now then ask him to MAYBE consider running in 2010 or 2012? This is an interesting possibility and one that has definite potential.
Marr could give McMorris a definite run for her money. If Marr can get past the city slicker aura and reach out to rural communities, then this race will be as dangerous to McMorris as Bush is to the free world. He has the fundraising structure in place, more importantly, that fundraising base is centered here in Spokane. This is something recent candidates for the Fifth Congressional District have notoriously had problems with. Combine the ability to raise money in Spokane, with money that will surely flow in from the coast, and Marr will hit Cathy McMorris hard right out the gate.
Chris won’t face name recognition problems that many candidates in the past have had. Chris ran a lot of television ads in 2006 for his State Senate seat. These ads ran through almost the entire Congressional District as the Spokane television market covers from Okanogan county all the way down to Asotin county. The ads will be fresh in the minds of district residents when they start to hear his name come up as the campaign cycle kicks off.
Best of luck Chris, we know with your work ethic and your character you will do us proud!
In other news, there also seems to be some credence to the rumor that Cathy may not seek re-election after all. She may have just hired a campaign manager to keep a presence and also to meet her fundraising needs for the R.N.C.C. At this point I suspect her fundraising goals are fairly steep, considering the scramble the Republican party is in to regain power. So keep an ear to the ground and see what you hear, maybe we’ll learn that Cathy will step aside and let a more qualified individual represent our district.
June 12, 2007 at 10:46 pm
It’s too early (never thought i’d say that) for a Democratic 5th CD candidate this cycle. Chris may well be a good choice as he has the leasure of not running for re-election until 2010.
But, his replacement needs to be thought about, and then the special, off year election in what is still a swing district.
Eastern Washington needs more, not fewer members of the State House and Senate.
June 13, 2007 at 8:13 am
Glad to see people are taking an active interest in the blog
and voicing their own opinions. I think that your thoughts on the fifth are definitely something interesting to think about. Why do you feel it is to early to have a candidate here?
June 13, 2007 at 8:52 am
A lot depends on whose coattails we’re riding…won’t know until Feb 2008.
Clinton or Obama won’t be much help in the 5th…
Richardson would be a different story
June 13, 2007 at 9:27 am
Interesting, but also the 5th has tended to be independent of many national trends.
How do you think Marr would fair in more rural areas, such as Pullman or Walla Walla?
June 14, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Spokompton - welcome to the HBO circuit of the Spokesman. My good friend, DFO suggested I stop by. Glad I did.
I disagree with your assessment of Marr. In my opinion, he will have some personal baggage to deal with in any political race in the future. He is a bright star, yes, but sometimes those fade faster in the long run. We will see with Marr.
June 14, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Fun blog. Finally some place to discuss local politics candidly.
2008 isn’t the year for Marr to run and I’m sure he knows that. Your analysis of Marr’s political strengths is thin and underestimation of McMorris’ strength and appeal to 5th District voters is apparent.
Two words: Remember Barbieri. Don had everything going for him including money, strong business background, and a long, mostly positive, history in the region. He sunk like a rock and McMorris, though an outsider from Stevens County, pulled 60% of the vote (a greater percentage than Nethercutt pulled in any of his five victories). Granted, 2004 was a huge turnout year for Republicans, but even so, I was extremely surprised at how well she did, especially in Spokane County.
Marr’s got a little momentum going for himself at this time, but hardly enough to unseat McMorris. Any urban Spokane Democrat is going to have a devil of a time taking away Republican votes out of the district’s 11 other rural counties. Plus, Marr needs a few more legislative sessions under his belt to put together a broad enough record to run for Congress with. If he runs in ‘08 with only half of his first term completed, he’ll only succeed at creating the appearance of opportunism. My bet is he looks for the safe way out and waits for McMorris to retire. But who knows when that will happen, and when it does, there’s quite a substantial Republican farm team waiting in the wings just as there was in 2004.
As you’ve probably deducted by now, I’m on the “right” side of the aisle, but again, I appreciate the blog. It’s nice to know what the opposition is up to…
June 23, 2007 at 8:09 am
McMorris’s prodigy should be an indicator of her mental capacities. Both of them are sucking on body parts..and mcmorris’s is between bush’s crotch.
June 25, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Real classy, Treaduea. I believe your comment accurately illustrates your mental capacity.
Hey Stuck in Spokane, is this the type of garbage you allow on your blog? I mean, I guess it’s okay to say that Republicans Hate Families, but is this indicative of family values from the left?