Issue #311
State Senate races: Republicans are dishing dirt through the mails
Republicans have signaled early, in two key State Senate races, that they are ready to go negative with crude attack mailings with November’s election day still 99 days away. The stakes, in what’s expected to be a multimillion-dollar battle, are big scale. Voters in Bellingham and Whatcom County, represented by endangered 42nd District GOP State Sen. Doug Ericksen, have already been sent four hit pieces by the state Republican Party attacking Democratic challenger Seth Fleetwood. A similar situation has cropped up in the 45th, which includes Bellevue and Redmond. Eastside Democratic voters have lately received two hit mailers, which are designed to call into doubt support for Democratic challenger Matt Isenhower. In one, the message is “Matt Isenhower is a Great Republican,” and “If Matt Isenhower is a Democrat, then Dick Cheney is a pacifist.” The other shows a picture, “Matt Isenhower and His Republican Mentors,” showing the Democratic candidate flanked by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Joel Connelly, Seattle P-I, 7-28-14.