Washington Senate Race Still Tight, Pro-Life Rossi Leads Pro-Abortion Murrary
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 2, 2010
Olympia, WA (LifeNews.com) — The Washington Senate race remains tight just two weeks after voters participated in the state’s primary election. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of likely voters shows challenger Dino Rossi attracting 48% of the vote compared with 46% for pro-abortion incumbent Sen. Patty Murray.
Another three percent prefer a different candidate, and three percent are still undecided about the candidates.
"Earlier this month, Murray had a slight edge. However, the race has been very close all along," Rassmusen points out. "In ten surveys conducted since January, the candidates have been within two points of each other seven times. Rossi has twice held a three-point advantage and Murray once had a four-point edge."
"Since May, Rossi has attracted support from either 47% or 48% of the vote in five out of six surveys. During that same time frame, Murray has been between 47% and 49% of the vote in five of six surveys," the polling firm stated.
Because of the closeness of the race, Rasmussen has changed its rating of it from leaning towards the Democratic candidate to a tossup.
Murray has served in the Senate since 1993 and Rossi was a two-time unsuccessful candidate for governor and they couldn’t be further apart on the issue of abortion.
Murrary has a clear pro-abortion record, according to the National Right to Life Committee. She receives a 0% pro-life rating by virtue of her voting for the pro-abortion health care bill, to require taxpayers to fund abortions in various instances, and against health care for unborn children.
Rossi is expected to get the support of pro-life advocates, according to Joe Fuiten, the former president of Washington Evangelicals for Responsible Government.
"Dino Rossi was always to be counted on in the pro-life concerns," he said of his time in the state legislature.
Fuiten dismisses the concern about Rossi not talking about abortion much in a state that favors abortion and voted to legalize assisted suicide.
"Dino has apparently not been willing to make abortion the centerpiece of his campaign. I do not understand pro-lifers who criticize the man saying he is not really pro-life," he said. "Until we achieve greater success in the general population with our message there will not be a lot of legislative success. In the meantime, we have work to do but the work is not to treat solid conservative pro-lifers like Rossi as if they were Patty Murray."
"I think successful armies fire at their opponents not their friends. Dino Rossi is a friend to us in the pro-life community," he said.
The new Rasmussen poll has Murray is viewed very favorably by 30% of Washington voters and very unfavorably by 32%. Twenty-five percent view Rossi very favorably, while 26% view him very unfavorably.
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