Will WA-3rd Race Reflect U.S. Political Tide?

Townhall Staff

Oct 25, 2010 9:29 AM Oct 25, 2010

Opinion

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VANCOUVER, Wash. — You don't have to trek far to see how bad times can rattle the political landscape. Just beyond the southern reach of Puget Sound, the two candidates vying to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Brian Baird are locked in a campaign that many analysts suspect would play out far differently any other year.

This closely contested district covering Southwest Washington voted overwhelmingly for President Obama and elected Baird to six consecutive terms. But now a Democrat who never worked in the other Washington and who hasn't held a government job in 18 years has been cast as the ultimate political insider. And polls consistently show him trailing his less-experienced Republican rival, some by a wide margin.