McIntire poised for general election

Rep. Jim McIntire, candidate for state treasurer: Politicker PhotoState Rep. Jim McIntire, who retired this year in order to make a run for state treasurer, appears well-positioned to continue on to the general election despite the presence of fellow Democrat ChangMook Sohn in the primary, the well-funded and well-respected chief economist for the state. It was widely expected to be one of the closest races of the night between second and third place candidates.

At the end of the night McIntire narrowly trailed Assistant State Treasurer Allan Martin, a Republican, in statewide polling but held a large lead over Sohn. With 766,357 votes counted, Martin had 44.3 percent of the vote compared to 40.7 percent for McIntire and 15.0 percent for Sohn.

"We're doing just fine," McIntire said of today's primary. "We are running competitively with the Republican in the race and I think when King County comes in we will be neck and neck with the Republican even with another Democrat in the race."

McIntire also likes his chances in November. "We ran very strong statewide," the candidate said of his campaign. "We are doing quite well statewide. We have been to two dozen counties already. We have spoken to 200 groups. I think we will do quite well.

"I think the people really want to hear about a plan for the future, somebody who is really prepared and is thinking about how we finance the schools and the transportation systems and the local infrastructure and keep our econ growing and moving forward. You know, this is not just a green eyeshade job for a banker; this is a job for somebody who really wants to bring some financial leadership to the office. That is why I'm running."