Maria Cantwell

Maria Cantwell

Maria E. Cantwell (born October 13, 1958) is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and is a member of the Democratic Party. Previously she served in Washington House of Representatives and one term as member of the United States House of Representatives from Washington's 1st congressional district. She is Washington's second female senator.

Cantwell and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan were the first women to defeat elected incumbent Senators in a general election. In 1992, Carol Moseley Braun had defeated incumbent Alan J. Dixon in the Democratic primary, and later that year Dianne Feinstein defeated appointed incumbent John F. Seymour in a special election; Kay Bailey Hutchison defeated appointed Senator Bob Krueger in a 1993 special election.

Cantwell was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was raised in a predominantly Irish neighborhood on the south side of Indianapolis. Her father, Paul F. Cantwell, served as county commissioner, city councilman, state legislator, and Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Andrew Jacobs, Jr.. Her mother, Rose M., was an administrative assistant.

She attended Emmerich Manual High School and was inducted into the Indianapolis Public Schools Hall of Fame in 2006. After high school, Cantwell went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration. She moved to Seattle, Washington, in 1983 to campaign for Alan Cranston in his unsuccessful bid for the 1984 Democratic Presidential nomination. She then moved to the Seattle suburb of Mountlake Terrace because it reminded her of Indianapolis, and led a successful campaign to build a new library there.

In 1986, Cantwell was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives at the age of 28. In her campaign, she embarked on an extensive door-knocking movement in her district. As a state representative, she helped write Washington's Growth Management Act of 1990, which required cities to develop comprehensive growth plans, and she negotiated its passage. She also worked on legislation regulating nursing homes.

In 1992, Cantwell became the first Democrat elected to the United States House of Representatives from Washington's first congressional district in 40 years. During her first term, she helped convince the Clinton Administration to drop its support of the Clipper chip, she voted in support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and she supported President Clinton's 1993 budget. Republican Rick White used that vote to narrowly defeat her in the Republican landslide year of 1994.

In 1998, the company faced heavy criticism because privacy groups alleged that the RealJukebox software program incorporated spyware to track unsuspecting users' listening patterns and download history. In response, RealNetworks amended its privacy policy to fully disclose its privacy practices regarding user listening patterns. Subsequently, RealNetworks submitted to independent outside audits of its privacy practices. Several lawsuits regarding the alleged privacy violations were settled out of court. This has in part informed her views on privacy and thus her opposition to the Bush Administration's post-9/11 policies.

Cantwell became a multimillionaire with the stock options from RealNetworks. In August 2000, during her Senate campaign, Cantwell sold 110,000 shares of RealNetworks stock at about $44/share.

At the urging of party activists and officials, Cantwell formed an exploratory committee in October 1999 to consider a run for United States Senate against Democrat Deborah Senn and incumbent Republican Slade Gorton. She committed to running on January 19, 2000.

Cantwell was behind Senn by a year in getting into the race. She quickly lost the Washington State Labor Council and NARAL endorsements to Senn. Early on, privacy became an issue. Senn cited her record protecting medical privacy as insurance commissioner. Cantwell promoted Internet privacy and cited her opposition to the Clipper Chip.

In her television advertising late in the campaign, Senn accused Cantwell of ducking debates. Cantwell had agreed to two debates; Senn preferred more. They ended up having three debates, during which the candidates harshly attacked each other. Senn attacked RealNetworks and Cantwell's role in the company. Cantwell accused Senn of wanting to run against RealNetworks and said that Senn was uninformed on Internet issues.

Cantwell secured the endorsements of The Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Spokesman-Review, and the News Tribune. She easily won her party's nomination, defeating Senn 3-to-1 in the primary. Although he won renomination, Slade Gorton got fewer votes than Cantwell and Senn's combined total. Cantwell cited this as evidence that Washington was ready for a change.

Cantwell won the endorsements of The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the state's two biggest newspapers. Gorton won the Tri-City Herald and the News Tribune.

At times the campaign was accused of pettiness. After a Cantwell campaign worker deep-linked to a humorous photo on the Gorton website, Gorton accused Cantwell's campaign of hacking his website, and Senn accused Cantwell of hypocrisy because of the incident. "Fiddling with people's websites and calling it good fun ... adds a very childish and unworthy character to the race," said Senn's campaign spokeswoman Barbara Stenson.

The election results were extremely close. Early on, Cantwell enjoyed a lead, and TV networks projected a Cantwell victory. As absentee ballots streamed in, Gorton overtook Cantwell and achieved a lead of 15,000 votes. When the heavily Democratic Puget Sound region finished counting ballots and the county totals were certified on November 23, Cantwell had regained the lead; she was ahead by 1,953 votes out of 2.5 million cast, about .08%. A mandatory recount increased her lead to 2,229 votes, or .09%.

In 2000, Maria Cantwell and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan became the first women to defeat incumbent senators.

Cantwell spent over $10 million of her own money on her campaign, pledging not to accept money from PACs. When RealNetworks stock declined at the end of 2000, she spent time raising funds for debt retirement, although she kept her pledge not to accept PAC money, as documented by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

In the waning weeks of the 2000 campaign, the Federal Election Commission ruled that Cantwell violated federal campaign finance law by securing $3.8 million in bank loans for her campaign and failing to properly disclose the loans until January 30, 2001. The Federal Election Commission sent a letter of admonishment.

The close 2004 gubernatorial race between Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi suggested to many that the 2006 contest might go either way. Both Cantwell and her opponent Republican Mike McGavick dominated their primaries; initial speculation favored a Republican victory. "At one point," wrote analyst Larry Sabato, "all the talk in this race concerned Cantwell's cool relations with anti-war Democratic elements and McGavick's relatively united base. But Democrats appear to have closed ranks behind their junior senator." Cantwell ended up winning re-election by a 16 point margin, even winning several traditionally Republican counties in Eastern Washington including Spokane County.

During the 2006 campaign, Cantwell received heavy criticism for declining most of the invitations she received to debate McGavick in public forums. Media outlets across the state, including the The Olympian and the Yakima Herald-Republic, rebuked Cantwell, claiming that she is afraid to confront McGavick, calling it "unacceptable" and "simply not fair." Cantwell agreed to a total of two debates with her opponent in Seattle and Spokane, lasting 60 and 30 minutes, respectively. However, when Cantwell ran as a challenger for the Senate against the incumbent Slade Gorton in 2000, Gorton only agreed to two debates of a similar format. In another comparison, when Washington's Senior Senator Patty Murray ran for re-election in 2004, she only agreed to two debates with George Nethercutt, although both debates lasted one hour.

Cantwell was a key proponent of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill of 2002 and cosponsored the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act of 2001. In 2005 she wrote a letter in support of the Perkins Loan program, and told the Seattle Times in July 2006 that she is opposed to Social Security privatization. Cantwell cosponsored the "Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act of 2005".

Cantwell earned the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters and other environmental groups for opposing oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and by cosponsoring the Roadless Area Conservation Act, legislation aimed at preserving Washington's forests from logging and the building of paved roads. She has also worked to invest in alternative energy and to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, by sponsoring the Clean EDGE Act of 2006.

Cantwell serves on the Finance Committee, the Indian Affairs Committee, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. She also served on the Judiciary Committee during her first two years (2001–2002).

While she scores high on a progressive chart from ProgessivePunch.org, Cantwell has made several controversial votes during her time in the Senate that have created friction between her and members of the Democratic Party.

In 2006 Cantwell voted against the Kerry-Feingold Amendment to S.2766 that would have set a timetable for withdrawal, but in favor of the Levin-Reed Amendment that would encourage beginning a phased withdrawal by the end of the year, with no timetable for completion.

On the issue of abortion, Cantwell calls herself "100% pro-choice", and she consistently supports the positions of the pro-choice movement. She was one of 34 senators to vote against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which passed and was signed into law by President Bush on November 5, 2003, and has been ruled against by multiple federal courts before finally being upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. She also voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which made it an additional crime to kill or harm a fetus during a criminal assault upon the mother. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 61-38, and was signed into law by President Bush on April 1, 2004.

Cantwell is the chair of the Senate Democrats 20/20 Energy Independence campaign and is a co-chair of the Apollo Alliance. One of Cantwell's main accomplishments was the passage of an amendment "To prevent energy market manipulation," which passed 57-40 in the Senate; a previous effort was defeated by a vote of 50-48.

In the summer of 2005, Cantwell voted for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which angered many who opposed free trade agreements. Others argued that due to the state's unique economy, any senator from Washington almost had to vote for free trade pacts. Her votes on CAFTA, the PATRIOT Act, and Iraq prompted a 2006 Democratic primary challenge from Hong Tran, a Seattle legal aid attorney, and a third party challenge from Aaron Dixon, the former captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party.

Citing his potential views on abortion and the environment, Cantwell was one of 22 senators to vote against United States Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.

In December 2005 Cantwell scored what many perceived as one of the strongest victories of her first term when she blocked Alaska senator Ted Stevens' efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Stevens attached the measure to a bill that provided money for defense spending and Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Cantwell managed to round up the votes of 41 Democrats and 2 Republicans, enough to block a final vote. Stevens removed the ANWR drilling measure from the larger bill, but promised to bring the matter up at a later date.

In January 2006, after publicly announcing her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Cantwell, along with 18 other Democrats and all 53 present Republicans, voted for the cloture motion. The success of this motion ended an unlikely attempt to filibuster the confirmation of Judge Alito that was being led by Senator John Kerry and Senator Ted Kennedy. Alito was confirmed the next day by a vote of 58-42, with most Democrats, including Cantwell, voting against.

In May 2006, Cantwell, along with 38 of 44 Senate Democrats, voted in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611). This controversial legislation includes provisions to improve border security, increases fines and other punishments for employers of illegal immigrants, creation of a guest worker program (which includes an almost doubling of the number of H1-B visas), and creates a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. The bill, with support from Republican Party leadership, passed 62-36.

In addition to her opposition to Alaskan drilling, Cantwell has been one of the most vocal critics of the increase of oil and gasoline prices during 2008. Advocating increased regulation of futures markets and windfall taxes on oil profits, Cantwell has drawn scathing criticism from the Wall Street Journal.

Cantwell received the highest rating possible from the League of Conservation Voters for her environmental voting record. She is known for supporting alternative energy research and for protecting Washington's forests from logging and the construction of paved roads and has earned endorsement from various prominent environmental advocacy groups. and other environmental groups She has opposed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on multiple occasions, has voted to reduce oil usage by 40% by 2025, and has opposed legislation to relax or terminate CAFE standards. The Seattle Times has described Cantwell's environmental record as "pristine" and The Wilderness Society has described Cantwell as an "environmental champion".

Maria Cantwell is a major supporter of fellow Democrats running for office. In 2006, Maria Cantwell, facing her own challenging race, used ActBlue to raise $100,000 for Darcy Burner, Peter Goldmark, and Richard Wright, all of whom were facing tough House races in Washington State. In the 2008 cycle, Cantwell has been particularly committed to supporting Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

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Washington

Washington ( /ˈwɒʃɪŋtən/ (help·info)) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. In 2008, the Census Bureau estimated the state's population at 6,549,224 people.

Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Its northern border lies mostly along the 49th parallel, and then via marine boundaries through the Strait of Georgia, Haro Strait and Strait of Juan de Fuca, with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. Washington borders Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming most of the boundary and the 46th parallel forming the eastern part of the southern boundary. To the east Washington borders Idaho, bounded mostly by the meridian running north from the confluence of the Snake River and Clearwater River (about 116°57' west), except for the southernmost section where the border follows the Snake River. To the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean.

Washington is part of a region known as the Pacific Northwest, a term which always includes at least Washington and Oregon but may or may not include Idaho, western Montana, northern California, and part or all of British Columbia, Alaska, and the Yukon Territory, depending on the speaker or writer's intent.

The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state. Western Washington, west of the Cascades, has a mostly marine west coast climate with relatively mild temperatures, wet winters, and dry summers. Western Washington also supports dense forests of conifers and areas of temperate rain forest. In contrast, Eastern Washington, east of the Cascades, has a relatively dry climate with large areas of semiarid steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rainshadow of the Cascades; the Hanford reservation receives an average annual precipitation of between six and seven inches (178 mm). Farther east, the climate becomes less arid. The Palouse region of southeast Washington was grassland that has been mostly converted into farmland. Other parts of eastern Washington are forested and mountainous.

The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains. From the north to the south these volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount St. Helens is currently the only Washington volcano that is actively erupting; however, all of them are considered active volcanoes.

Washington's position on the Pacific Ocean and the harbors of Puget Sound give the state a leading role in maritime trade with Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Rim. Puget Sound's many islands are served by the largest ferry fleet in the United States.

Washington is a land of contrasts. The deep forests of the Olympic Peninsula, such as the Hoh Rain Forest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States, but the semi-desert east of the Cascade Range has few trees. Mount Rainier, the highest mountain in the state, is covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the lower 48 states.

Washington's climate varies greatly from west to east. An oceanic climate (also called "marine west coast climate") predominates in western Washington, and a much drier semi-arid climate prevails east of the Cascade Range. Major factors determining Washington's climate include the large semi-permanent high pressure and low pressure systems of the north Pacific Ocean, the continental air masses of North America, and the Olympic and Cascade mountains. In the spring and summer, a high pressure anticyclone system dominates the north Pacific Ocean, causing air to spiral out in a clockwise fashion. For Washington this means prevailing winds from the northwest bringing relatively cool air and a predictably dry season. In the autumn and winter, a low pressure cyclone system takes over in the north Pacific Ocean, with air spiraling inward in a counter-clockwise fashion. This causes Washington's prevailing winds to come from the southwest, bringing relatively warm and moist air masses and a predictably wet season. The term Pineapple Express is used to describe the extreme form of this wet season pattern.

Despite Western Washington having a marine climate similar to those of the coastal cities of Europe, there are exceptions, such as the "Big Snow" events of 1880, 1881, 1893 and 1916. The "deep freeze" winters of 1883/84, 1915/16, 1949/50 and 1955/56 among others. In these events Western Washington has experienced anything from six feet (1.8 m) of snow, sub-zero (−18°C) temperatures, three months of snow on the ground, and lakes and rivers frozen over for weeks on end. Seattle's lowest temperature recorded officially is 0°F (−18°C) set on January 31, 1950, but it has been known that areas away from Seattle have experienced record lows from −10°F to −20°F (−23°C to −29°C).

In 2006, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington published The Impacts of Climate change in Washington’s Economy, a preliminary assessment on the risks and opportunities presented given the possibility of a rise in global temperatures and their effects on Washington state.

The coastal mountains and Cascades compound this climatic pattern by causing orographic lift of the air masses blown inland from the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the windward side of the mountains receiving high levels of precipitation and the leeward side receiving low levels. This occurs most dramatically around the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Range. In both cases the windward slopes facing southwest receive high precipitation and mild, cool temperatures. While the Puget Sound lowlands are known for clouds and rain in the winter, the western slopes of the Cascades receive larger amounts of precipitation, often falling as snow at higher elevations. (Mount Baker, near the state's northern border, is one of the snowiest places in the world: in 1999, it set the world record for snowfall in a single season (1,140 in, 95 ft or 28.96 m). East of the Cascades, a large region experiences strong rain shadow effects. Semi-arid conditions occur in much of eastern Washington with the strongest rain shadow effects at the relatively low elevations of the central Columbia River Plateau — especially the region just east of the Columbia River from about the Snake River to the Okanagan Highland. Thus instead of rain forests much of eastern Washington is covered with grassland and shrub-steppe.

The average annual temperature ranges from 51 °F (10.6 °C) on the Pacific coast to 40 °F (4.4 °C) in the northeast. The lowest recorded temperature in the state was -48 °F (-44.4 °C) in Winthrop and Mazama. The highest recorded temperature in the state was 118 °F (47.8 °C) at Ice Harbor Dam. Both records were set east of the Cascades. Western Washington is known for its mild climate, considerable fog, frequent cloud cover and long-lasting drizzles in the winter, and sunny and dry summers. The western region occasionally experiences extreme climate. Arctic cold fronts in the winter and heat waves in the summer are not uncommon. In the Western region, temperatures have reached as high as 112 °F (44 °C) in Marietta and as low as −20 °F (−28.9 °C) in Longview. The western side of the Olympic Peninsula receives as much as 160 inches (4,064 mm) of precipitation annually, making it the wettest area of the 48 conterminous states. Weeks or even months may pass without a clear day. The western slopes of the Cascade Range receive some of the heaviest annual snowfall (in some places more than 200 in or 5,080 mm) in the country. In the rain shadow area east of the Cascades, the annual precipitation is only 6 inches (152 mm). Precipitation increases eastward toward the Rocky Mountains.

The center of population of Washington in the year 2000 was located in an unpopulated part of rural eastern King County, southeast of North Bend and northeast of Enumclaw.

According to the U.S. Census, as of 2006, Washington has an estimated population of 6,395,798, which is an increase of 501,658, or 8.5%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase of 221,958 people (that is, 503,819 births minus 281,861 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 287,759 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 157,950 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 129,809 people.

As of the Census 2000, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metropolitan Area's population was 3,043,878, about half the state's total population.

As of 2004, Washington's population included 631,500 foreign-born (10.3% of the state population), and an estimated 100,000 illegal aliens (1.6% of state population).

The largest cities in Washington according to 2008 state census estimates.

The six largest reported ancestries in Washington are: German (18.7%), English (12%), Irish (11.4%), Norwegian (6.2%), Mexican (5.6%) and Filipino (3.7%).

There are many migrant Mexican farm workers living in the southeast-central part of the state, though the population is also increasing as laborers in Western Washington.

Washington has the fourth largest Asian population of any state. The Filipino community is the largest Asian American subgroup in the state. Gary Locke was elected as the first Asian American governor (and so far, the only Chinese American governor of any US state) at the end of the 20th century.

African Americans are less numerous than Asians or Hispanics in many communities, but have been elected as mayor of Seattle, Spokane and Lakewood and as King County Executive. In Seattle, minorities are moving into the southern part of the city as well as many suburban areas such as South King County. Seattle's Black population is largely concentrated on Rainier Valley and the Central District which remains the only majority-black neighborhood in the Pacific Northwest. Tacoma also has a rising African-American population.

Washington is the location of many Native American reservations, with some placing prominent casinos next to major interstate highways. Residents have adopted many of the artwork themes of the northwest coast Indians who were noted for totem poles, longhouses, dugout canoes and pictures of animals. Many cities have traditional names created by Native Americans such as Yakima, Seattle, Spokane, Puyallup, and Walla Walla.

6.7% of Washington's population was reported as under 5, 25.7% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.2% of the population.

The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 716,133; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 178,000; and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 127,854.

As with many other Western states, the percentage of Washington's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is higher than the national average. The percentage of non-religious people in Washington is the highest of any state.

The 2005 total gross state product for Washington was $268.5 billion, placing it 14th in the nation. The per capita income was $42,702, 17th in the nation. Significant business within the state include the design and manufacture of jet aircraft (Boeing), computer software development (Microsoft, Amazon.com, Nintendo of America, Valve Corporation), electronics, biotechnology, aluminum production, lumber and wood products (Weyerhaeuser), mining, and tourism. The state has significant amounts of hydroelectric power generation.

Significant amounts of trade with Asia pass through the ports of the Puget Sound. See list of United States companies by state. Fortune magazine survey of the top 20 Most Admired Companies in the US has 4 Washington based companies in it, Starbucks, Microsoft, Costco and Nordstrom.

The state of Washington has the least progressive tax structure in the U.S. It is one of only seven states that does not levy a personal income tax. The wealthiest one percent of Washington taxpayers pay 3.2% of their income in taxes. The poorest fifth of Washington taxpayers pay 17.6% of their income in taxes. The state also does not collect a corporate income tax or franchise tax. However, Washington businesses are responsible for various other state levies. One tax Washington charges on most businesses is the business and occupation tax (B & O), a gross receipts tax which charges varying rates for different types of businesses.

Washington's state sales tax is 6.5 percent, and it applies to services as well as products. Most foods are exempt from sales tax; however, prepared foods, dietary supplements and soft drinks remain taxable. The combined state and local retail sales tax rates increase the taxes paid by consumers, depending on the variable local sales tax rates, generally between 8 and 9 percent. An excise tax applies to certain select products such as gasoline, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages. Property tax was the first tax levied in the state of Washington and its collection accounts for about 30 percent of Washington's total state and local revenue. It continues to be the most important revenue source for public schools, fire protection, libraries, parks and recreation, and other special purpose districts.

All real property and personal property is subject to tax unless specifically exempted by law. Personal property also is taxed, although most personal property owned by individuals is exempt. Personal property tax applies to personal property used when conducting business or to other personal property not exempt by law. All property taxes are paid to the county treasurer's office where the property is located. Washington does not impose a tax on intangible assets such as bank accounts, stocks or bonds. Neither does the state assess any tax on retirement income earned and received from another state. Washington does not collect inheritance taxes; however, the estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws, and therefore the state imposes its own estate tax.

Washington is one of eighteen states which has a government monopoly on sales of alcoholic beverages, although beer and wine with less than 20 percent alcohol by volume can be purchased in convenience stores and supermarkets. Liqueurs (even if under 20 percent alcohol by volume) and spirits can only be purchased in state-run or privately-owned-state-contracted liquor stores.

Bill Gates (worth $59.2 billion), the second wealthiest man in the world, is the best known billionaire from the state. Other Washington state billionaires include Paul Allen (Microsoft), Steve Ballmer (Microsoft), Jeffrey Bezos (Amazon), Craig McCaw (McCaw Cellular), James Jannard (Oakley), Howard Schultz (Starbucks), and Charles Simonyi (Microsoft).

For 2003, the total value of Washington's agricultural products was $5.79 billion, the 11th highest in the country. The total value of its crops was $3.8 billion, the 7th highest. The total value of its livestock and specialty products was $1.5 billion, the 26th highest.

In 2004, Washington ranked first in the nation in production of red raspberries (90.0% of total U.S. production), wrinkled seed peas (80.6%), hops (75.0%), spearmint oil (73.6%), apples (58.1%), sweet cherries (47.3%), pears (42.6%), peppermint oil (40.3%), Concord grapes (39.3%), carrots for processing (36.8%), and Niagara grapes (31.6%). Washington also ranked second in the nation in production of lentils, fall potatoes, dry edible peas, apricots, grapes (all varieties taken together), asparagus (over a third of the nation's production), sweet corn for processing, and green peas for processing; third in tart cherries, prunes and plums, and dry summer onions; fourth in barley and trout; and fifth in wheat, cranberries, and strawberries.

The apple industry is of particular importance to Washington. Because of the favorable climate of dry, warm summers and cold winters of central Washington, the state has led the U.S. in apple production since the 1920s. Two areas account for the vast majority of the state's apple crop: the Wenatchee–Okanogan region (comprising Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas, and Grant counties), and the Yakima region (Yakima, Benton and Kittitas counties).

Washington has a system of state highways, called State Routes, as well as an extensive ferry system which is the largest in the nation as well as the third largest in the world. There are 140 public airfields in Washington, including 16 state airports owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation. Boeing Field in Seattle is one of the busiest primary non-hub airports in the US. The unique geography of Washington presents exceptional transportation needs.

There are extensive waterways in the midst of Washington's largest cites, including Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and Olympia. The state highways incorporate an extensive network of bridges and the largest ferry system in the United States to serve transportation needs in the Puget Sound area. Washington's marine highway constitutes a fleet of twenty-eight ferries that navigate Puget Sound and its inland waterways to 20 different ports of call. Washington is home to four of the five longest floating bridges in the world: the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and Homer M. Hadley Bridge over Lake Washington, and the Hood Canal Bridge which connects the Olympic Peninsula and Kitsap Peninsula.

The Cascade Mountain Range also provides unique transportation challenges. Washington operates and maintains roads over seven major mountain passes and eight minor passes. During winter months some of these passes are plowed, sanded, and kept safe with avalanche control. Not all are able to stay open through the winter. The North Cascades Highway on State Route 20 closes every year. This is because of the extraordinary amount of snowfall and frequency of avalanches, leading to it not being safe in the winter months.

It is recorded that in Washington that transportation, including automobiles, planes, trains and ships is the cause of 45 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2007, Washington became the first state in the nation to target all forms of highly toxic brominated flame retardants known as PBDEs for elimination from the many common household products in which they are used. A 2004 study of 40 mothers from Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Montana found PBDEs in the breast milk of every woman tested.

Three recent studies by the Washington Department of Ecology showed that toxic chemicals banned decades ago continue to linger in the environment and concentrate in the food chain. In one of the studies, state government scientists found unacceptable levels of toxic substances in 93 samples of freshwater fish collected from 45 sites. The toxic substances included PCBs; dioxins, two chlorinated pesticides, DDE and dieldrin, and PBDEs. As a result of the study, the department will investigate the sources of PCBs in the Wenatchee River, where unhealthy levels of PCBs were found in mountain whitefish. Based on the 2007 information and a previous 2004 Ecology study, the Washington Department of Health is advising the public not to eat mountain whitefish from the Wenatchee River from Leavenworth downstream to where the river joins the Columbia, due to unhealthy levels of PCBs. Study results also indicated high levels of contaminants in fish tissue that scientists collected from Lake Washington and the Spokane River, where fish consumption advisories are already in effect.

On March 27, 2006 Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law the recently approved House Bill 2322. This bill would limit phosphorus content in dishwashing detergents statewide to 0.5% over the next six years. Though the ban would be effective statewide in 2010, it would take place in Whatcom County, Spokane County, and Clark County, Washington, in 2008. A recent discovery had linked high contents of phosphorus in water to a boom in algae population. An invasive amount of algae in bodies of water would eventually lead to a variety of excess ecological and technological issues.

The bicameral Washington State Legislature is the state's legislative branch. The state legislature is composed of a lower House of Representatives and an upper State Senate. The state is divided into 49 legislative districts of equal population, each of which elects two representatives and one senator. Representatives serve two-year terms, whilst senators serve for four years. There are no term limits. Currently, the Democratic Party holds majorities in both chambers.

Washington's executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term. The current governor is Christine Gregoire, a Democrat who has been in office since 2005.

The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Nine justices serve on the bench and are elected statewide.

The two U.S. Senators from Washington are Patty Murray (D) and Maria Cantwell (D).

Washington representatives in the United States House of Representatives (see map of districts) are Jay Inslee (D-1), Richard Ray (Rick) Larsen (D-2), Brian Baird (D-3), Doc Hastings (R-4), Cathy McMorris (R-5), Norm Dicks (D-6), Jim McDermott (D-7), David Reichert (R-8), and Adam Smith (D-9).

The state has been thought of as politically divided by the Cascade Mountains, with Western Washington being liberal (particularly the I-5 Corridor) and Eastern Washington being conservative. Lately however, Washington has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1988. Spokane, the state's second largest city located in Eastern Washington, has been leaning more liberal, with one example being Democrat Maria Cantwell winning by a wide margin in the 2006 senate race against Republican Mike McGavick. Since the population is larger in the west, the Democrats usually fare better statewide. More specifically, the Seattle metro area (especially King County) generally delivers strong Democratic margins, while the outlying areas of Western Washington were nearly tied in both 2000 and 2004. It was considered a key swing state in 1968, and it was the only Western state to give its electoral votes to Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey over his Republican opponent Richard Nixon. However, Washington was considered a part of the 1994 Republican Revolution, and had the biggest pickup in the house for Republicans, making 7 of the 9 house members Republicans for the state of Washington. However, this dominance did not last for long as Democrats picked up one seat in the 1996 election and two more in 1998, giving the Democrats a 5-4 majority.

The two current United States Senators from Washington are Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both of whom are members of the Democratic Party. The office of Governor is held by Christine Gregoire, who was re-elected to her second term in the 2008 gubernatorial election. Washington is the first and only state in the country to have elected women to both of its United States Senate seats, and the office of Governor. Both houses of the Washington State Legislature (the Washington Senate and the Washington House of Representatives) are currently controlled by the Democratic Party.

Three ships of the United States Navy, including two battleships, have been named USS Washington in honor of the state. Previous ships had held that name in honor of George Washington.

The State song is "Washington My Home", the State bird is the American Goldfinch, the State fruit is the Apple, and the State vegetable is the Walla Walla Sweet Onion The State dance, adopted in 1979, is the Square Dance. The State Tree is the Western Hemlock. The State flower is the Coast Rhododendron. The State Fish is the Steelhead Trout. The State folk song is "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" by Woody Guthrie. The State Grass is Bluebunch wheatgrass. The State Insect is the Green Darner Dragonfly. The State Gem is Petrified wood. The State Fossil is the Columbian Mammoth. The State Marine Mammal is the Orca Whale. The State Seal (featured in the state flag as well) was inspired by the unfinished portrait by Gilbert Stuart.

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United States Senate election in Washington, 2006

The Washington U.S. Senate election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006, with Maria Cantwell elected to serve her second term from January 3, 2007 and January 3, 2013. The filing deadline was July 28, 2006, with the primary held on September 19, 2006 .

Both the Democratic and Republican primaries were decided by overwhelming margins. The incumbent Democratic Senator, Maria Cantwell, won her primary by getting nearly 91%, with the next closest candidate, Hong Tran, getting 5% of the Democratic vote; Mike McGavick was the Republican nominee, who received an unusual pre-primary endorsement from the state party, defeated his closest competitor, Brad Klippert, in the primary with over 85%, to Klippert's less than 7%, of the Republican vote. Facing Cantwell and McGavick on the November general election ballot were Green Party nominee Aaron Dixon, Libertarian Bruce Guthrie and independent candidate Robin Adair.

Cantwell consistently led in opinion polling throughout the race, although political analysts saw Cantwell as vulnerable this election cycle due to her extremely narrow win in 2000 and discontent among progressive voters over her votes on the Iraq War, USA PATRIOT Act, and various others. As of November 1, 2006, The National Journal ranked Cantwell's seat as number 13 of the top 20 races to watch based on the likelihood of switching party control, and the third-highest Democratic seat likely to flip. However, in an election marked by discontent over the Republican leadership in Washington, DC, Cantwell easily won the election by an 16% margin -- 56%-40%.

Statewide politics in Washington have been dominated by the Democratic Party for many years. The governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, state auditor, and insurance commissioner are Democrats, while only secretary of state, attorney general, and commissioner of public lands are Republican. Of the nine representatives Washington sends to the House of Representatives, six are Democrats. Democrat Patty Murray is the state's senior senator. Cantwell won her initial election to the Senate in 2000 over Slade Gorton by 2,229 votes. Due to the closeness of that race, and the close gubernatorial contest between Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi in November 2004, many Republicans believe they have a strong chance of capturing Cantwell's seat in 2006.

In early hypothetical matchups in 2005 compiled by conservative pollster Strategic Vision , Rossi led Cantwell. Republican leadership reportedly pleaded with Rossi to jump into the ring. Rossi declined.

Speculation next centered on Rick White (who had taken Cantwell's House seat in 1994), state GOP chair Chris Vance, former Seattle television reporter Susan Hutchinson, and former 8th district Congressional candidate and Republican National Committee member Diane Tebelius. None of those chose to enter the race. Republican leaders finally got behind former Safeco Insurance CEO Mike McGavick.

On March 9, 2006, Aaron Dixon announced his decision to seek the Green Party's nomination for U.S. Senate, challenging Cantwell on her continued support for the U.S. presence in Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act. On May 13, 2006, Mr. Dixon secured the party's nomination at the Green Party of Washington state's Spring Convention.

Initially, Cantwell had two challengers from within the Democratic primary, both of them taking strong stances against the Iraq war that brought attention to Cantwell's votes for the Iraq Resolution and against a timeline for withdrawal: Mark Wilson and Hong Tran. Three other Democrats also entered the primary race: Mike the Mover, Michael Goodspaceguy Nelson, and Mohammad H. Said.

On August 8, 2006, the incumbent Democratic Senator from Connecticut, Joe Lieberman, lost his primary race to challenger Ned Lamont by 52%-48%, and appears to be following through on his earlier commitment to run as an Independent in the general election. A great deal of attention has focused on this race, as an early barometer of both anti-incumbent and anti-war sentiment nationwide. Comparisons have been made between Lieberman's troubles and Cantwell's re-election bid, citing Cantwell's vote in favor of the Iraq Resolution that led to the war, her refusal to say she regretted the vote, and her vote against a timetable for withdrawal. However, a Seattle P-I article notes that comparisons between Lieberman's loss and Cantwell's situation are limited at best. Unlike Lamont's campaign, Cantwell's anti-war opponents' campaigns have received much less funding and have not had the same support from the blogosphere that brought Lamont to prominence and improved his name recognition. Also, unlike Lieberman, Cantwell has altered her position on the war during her campaign and criticized the Bush Administration for its conduct of the war. She also hired her most vocal anti-war primary opponent, Mark Wilson, at $8,000-a-month salary, a move that was described by political commentators as "buying out" the opposition (which she also allegedly attempted with other anti-war challengers Hong Tran and Aaron Dixon) . The article does, however, note that, despite the differences in exact circumstances, the Lieberman defeat also shows that voters are in an anti-incumbent mood, which could create problems for Cantwell. This is supported by another P-I article that also notes that the primary loss of Lieberman and two House incumbents, Michigan Republican Joe Schwarz and Georgia Democrat Cynthia McKinney, on the same day indicates that there may be a nationwide anti-incumbent trend.

Following the primary results, Cantwell endorsed Ned Lamont and McGavick responded by endorsing Senator Lieberman. The Dixon campaign released a statement criticizing Cantwell's "spin and vague rhetoric" on the war, and equating her current position to a pro-war stance similar to Lieberman's.

On August 14, less than a week after Lamont's win and nearly four years after the actual event, Cantwell for the first time said she would have voted against the authorization to use force in Iraq if she knew then what she knows today. However, she did so only after hearing her opponent McGavick say that he would have voted against the authorization under those conditions. Cantwell has stated that she had no regrets for her vote in favor of the authorization and has not changed that position.

On July 9, anti-war challenger Mark Wilson announced he would abandon his bid, endorse Cantwell, and take a paid position offered by Cantwell's campaign, one day after progressive activist and anti-war critic Dal LaMagna had been hired to be the Cantwell campaign's co-chair. Initially, Cantwell's campaign refused to state how much they were paying Wilson, but under pressure from the media, disclosed that he was receiving $8,000 per month, only slightly less than Cantwell's campaign manager Matt Butler, who earns $8,731 per month. The next day, Hong Tran received a call from LaMagna saying they would like her to join their campaign, in a context that she interpreted as a job offer, which she refused. Political commentators, including those at the Seattle Post Intelligencer and one at The Washington Times, expressed their views that Cantwell was attempting to eliminate the viable options anti-war Democrats had to voice their opinion on the war in the upcoming primary by having Wilson join her campaign and then soliciting Tran. Wilson's supporters and journalists expressed surprise at his withdrawal from the race after a 16 month campaign, where he was a sharp critic of the incumbent Senator, who he referred to on his campaign website as a "free-trading corporate elitist" who "bought her seat", then "alienated and alarmed" her base. When asked by reporters if he still believed what he said about Cantwell during his primary bid, he stated: "I believed in it to a point in order to capitalize on what was already existent, which was a rift within the Democratic Party over the issue of the war." Both Dixon and Tran have publicly doubted that Wilson's apparent change of heart was genuine, citing his paid position with the campaign and his initial refusal to disclose his salary.

On September 25, Joshua Frank reported that Dixon was alleging that he had been contacted twice in July by Mark Wilson, who implied that large donations to Dixon's non-profit organization, Central House, would be made if he were to withdraw his candidacy before filing. Dixon also claimed that Wilson was not the only Cantwell staffer to contact him, but declined to disclose who the other staff was. Dixon also made this claim on a Democracy Now! broadcast. David Postman of the Seattle Times contacted the Cantwell campaign about the allegations; their spokesperson didn't say it didn't happen, but stated that no one on the campaign had authorized to speak to Dixon about his campaign. The campaign did not allow access to Wilson so he could respond as to whether the conversation took place. Other reporters also have had trouble contacting Wilson in recent weeks; Susan Paynter of the Seattle P-I, in an article on his shunning of the media, noted that there had been a widespread assumption after Wilson's hire that the intent was to silence him and that his disappearance only reinforced this assumption, calling it "the political equivalent of a farm subsidy." Paynter also quoted Hong Tran as saying that the reaction to Wilson's initial appearances on the campaign trail after he had joined Cantwell were so negative that she was not surprised he disappeared.

While some of Washington's legislative districts did not give endorsements for the primary election, Cantwell received the sole endorsement of at least fourteen of the forty-nine legislative districts in the state . Hong Tran won the sole endorsement of one district, the 32nd (Cantwell's home district), and split dual endorsements with Cantwell in three others: the 40th, 25th, and 26th.. Tran attended the endorsement meeting for the 32nd Legislative District in person and, according to one blogger who claims to have spoken to people who attended the meeting, made her positions clear and responded to questions. According to the blogger, Cantwell sent Mark Wilson in her stead, who was unable to defend Cantwell's votes in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act, NAFTA, CAFTA, and the Iraq War.

The race was joined by a fourth party's candidate on April 10, 2006 when Bruce Guthrie, chair of the Whatcom County Libertarian Party and a 2004 U.S. Congressional candidate, declared his candidacy for the Senate and subsequently won the nomination of the Washington state Libertarian Party. Guthrie's platform includes ending the Iraq War, repealing the USA PATRIOT Act, gay rights and a program of laissez-faire economics.

On July 25, 2006, Robin Adair, an independent candidate, filed her candidacy to join the race. Next to nothing is known of her campaign. She has a campaign website, but has issued no press releases or statements clarifying her positions on the issues. According to CounterPunch, she is opposed to the war in Iraq.

McGavick and Cantwell participated in two televised debates; one in Eastern Washington, sponsored by the Spokane Rotary, and another filmed at KING-5 studios in Seattle. Cantwell and McGavick were the only candidates included in the Eastern Washington debate, but Libertarian Bruce Guthrie, who had mortgaged his home and emptied his savings to loan his campaign $1.2 million to meet the debate's invitation requirements, joined them in the Seattle debate.

After failing to meet the any of the requirements for an invitation to the Seattle debate, Aaron Dixon attempted to enter the KING-5 studios in order to participate in the debate. Accompanied by around 50 of his supporters, Dixon was prevented from entering the studios by station security and when Dixon refused to leave the building Seattle police were called and Dixon was arrested for investigation of tresspassing.

According to the Seattle P-I, Bruce Guthrie won the Seattle debate just by being there. McGavick and Cantwell mainly stuck to their tried and true campaign messages and Guthrie was able to expose his campaign messages to a wide audience, something most third party candidates are not able to do.

According to a CBS News poll conducted August 11 - August 13, 28% of Americans feel that the Iraq War as the most important problem facing the country. An November 6 poll conducted by Strategic Vision indicated that 68% of Washingtonians approve of an "immediate withdrawal of United States military forces from Iraq, within six months".

Both McGavick and Cantwell have said that if they knew then what they know now they would have voted against the October 2002 Iraq Resolution, but neither have been completely clear on where they stand on the current presence of US troops in Iraq. When questioned further, McGavick has said that discussing the legitimacy of the war is inappropriate until all the troops come home. Cantwell has declined to apologize for her vote in favor of the resolution and, according to her campaign site, Cantwell still favors U.S. forces remaining in Iraq until they "achieve stability through greater international cooperation".

Cantwell has voted in favor of beginning withdrawal of troops, albeit a non-binding amendment with no timetable for completion (the Levin-Reed Amendment to S.2766), but voted against the Kerry-Feingold Amendment, which would have set a firm deadline of July 2007 for completing a withdrawal. She also co-sponsored an amendment to prohibiting the establishment of permanent US bases in Iraq.

On August 16, the Seattle Times criticized the vagueness of the major party candidates' positions on the war and demanded more clarity. The next day, Stuart Elway, director of The Elway Poll, described Cantwell's and McGavick's positions as "almost identical,".

Democratic primary challenger Tran, the Green Party's Dixon and Libertarian Guthrie all advocated an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Despite voting against a bill that would have raised the minimum wage, extended sales tax deductions, and cut estate taxes, Cantwell supports an increase in the federal minimum wage. She explained her vote against the bill by noting that the bill would have represented a $5 per hour wage drop for over 120,000 tip workers in Washington and overridden existing state minimum wage laws and was an attempt by the Republican party to pass its estate tax cut bill, which continuously failed to pass on its own in the senate.

McGavick called Cantwell's vote against the bill "profoundly disappointing".

Democratic challenger Tran and the Green Party's Dixon favored raising the national minimum wage to a "living wage". Libertarian Guthrie advocated eliminating the minimum wage laws altogether.

On August 11, Mike McGavick loaned his campaign $2 million. Some observers thought that the donation could trigger "millionaire's amendment" of the 2002 Campaign Reform Act which is intended to help candidates compete against wealthy opponents that self-finance their campaigns. The amendment allows supporters of the wealthy candidate's opponents to donate up to $12,600 in the primary and another $12,600 in the general election instead of $2,100 in the primary and general election. The McGavick campaign denied the amendment applies to Cantwell as the loan was made prior to the primary election and would only affect his Republican opponents.

On August 29, the FEC issued a unanimous ruling on the question, saying that the millionaire's amendment was currently only triggered for McGavick's opponents in the primary; however, if either McGavick or Cantwell carry over some of their donations to their own campaign that were made in the primary into the general election, these donations would then trigger the Amendment.

On October 1, Libertarian nominee Bruce Guthrie loaned his campaign nearly $1.2 million, but it is unclear if the loan triggers the amendment for McGavick and Cantwell. Both Cantwell and McGavick have a significant fund raising lead over Guthrie and the amendment might not be triggered in cases where the self-financed candidate is already out funded by their opponents. Guthrie apparently made the loan in order to get himself invited to a televised debate on a western Washington television station and he eventually repaid himself all but $6,000 of the loan.

The McGavick campaign suffered a setback when on August 24 McGavick claimed on his campaign blog to have been cited in 1993 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol when he blew a 0.17 in a breath analyzer test, well above the .10 legal limit in Montgomery County, Maryland. However, on September 1, the Everett Herald newspaper uncovered the original police report and disclosed that there was several inaccuracies in McGavick's recount, namely that he actually charged with running a "steady red light", not "cutting a yellow a little close" and he was actually arrested for the DUI, not merely cited. The DUI charge was later removed from McGavick's record, in accordance with Maryland law, after completing an alcohol awareness program, paying a fine, and a year's probation. According to Jennifer Duffy of the The Cook Political Report, McGavick's undermined the rationale of his campaign that he was not acting like a typical politician and his omissions caused cynical voters to think he acted like a typical politician.

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Washington's 1st congressional district

The First Congressional District of Washington encompasses part of northwest Seattle and largely suburban areas of north and east of Seattle including Shoreline, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Bothell, Kirkland and Redmond, as well as Bainbridge Island and part of the Kitsap Peninsula. It is currently represented by Democrat Jay Inslee, from Bainbridge Island. From 1993 to 1995, Inslee had represented Washington's Fourth District in the central part of the state.

The former House seat of powerful Senator Warren G. Magnuson, the First was a swing district throughout much of the 1990s, changing hands and parties three times in four elections. Before the election of future Senator Maria Cantwell in 1992, the district had been in Republican hands for 40 years. Since the 1998 election, when Inslee was first elected, the First has been trending Democratic, and Inslee easily won re-election in 2008.

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