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Democrat Inslee bests incumbent White for Washington House seat
(AllPolitics, November 4) -- In a race that was too close to call for much of the night, Rep. Rick White (R-Washington) was defeated by his Democratic challenger, Jay Inslee.
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Jay Inslee
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White, a two-term representative of Washington's 1st congressional district, had been near the top of the Democratic target list for most of the election cycle.
While White portrayed himself as a moderate, Inslee painted the incumbent as much more conservative than that. White has departed from his conservative brethren on some issues, including opposing a constitutional ban on flag burning.
White's most recent problem involved his very public, rather messy divorce. After White used his wife and children in his campaign four years ago against an unmarried challenger, his family troubles undermined his appeal.
On the campaign trail, Inslee stuck to the Democratic message of HMO reform and education.
One of the first Democrats to reverse the political spin of the Monica Lewinsky matter, Inslee also ran a TV ad complaining that the impeachment process has dragged on for too long and blaming the Republicans for it.
But White also faced a big problem from third-party candidate Bruce Craswell, an unapologetic social issue conservative who complained that the Democrat is too willing to compromise.
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Rick White
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After serving two term in the state Senate, Inslee went to Congress for one term. He represented central Washington's 4th congressional district, but failed in his first bid for re-election in 1994.
Inslee, who was born and grew up in Seattle, moved back to western Washington after his defeat, and in 1996 he sought his party's gubernatorial nomination. Again, he came up short.
Washington's 1st C.D. straddles Puget Sound and includes part of Seattle's suburbs. The district was represented for years by moderate Republicans like Joel Pritchard and John Miller. Democrat Maria Cantwell won the seat in 1992, when Miller retired. White ousted Democrat Cantwell in the 1994 GOP wave.
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