expectations

It may not be a Washington state newspaper, but it is paying attention.  Today The Oregonian of Portland, Ore. published an editorial about the Evergreen State's "top two" primary, which Oregon is considering using in the next election.

Despite its southern roots The Oregonian is read by a large number of Vancouver residents, who are among the fastest growing population in the state, and its editors say they will be watching closely for high levels of turnout for the new top two process, and furthermore how the gubernatorial primary shapes up.

Perhaps more importantly, they weigh in on the heightened expectations game in the race, and they do so on the side of the Democrats.

The Republican Governors Association, whose presence in Washington state's race has increased of late with a mocking of Chris Gregoire's Barack Obama radio ad, kept at it this morning by weighing in with their expectations for tomorrow's "top two" primary.

In the memo, the RGA echoes the Dino Rossi campaign's assertion that Republicans tend to do relatively poorly in primary elections compared to general elections. They also float the idea that removing third parties by November will be uniquely helpful to their candidate. 

"The primary will help Rossi by clearing the race of other candidates who would capture the anti-Gregoire vote," the memo says. 

UPDATE: The Democratic Governors Association responded to their counterpart's memo. See below for more.

State Democrats sent out a memo of their own today that calls into question the validity of the pre-primary memo sent out by the Dino Rossi for governor campaign earlier this week, thus playing their own version of the expectations game.

Citing the boost Democrats hope to get from Barack Obama in the general election, they suggest Tuesday's primary is Rossi's best chance for a victory at the polls. "Between next Wednesday and November," the memo states, "Rossi's electoral prospects will become substantially worse."

Democrats point to two major factors in their memo, voting demographics and alternative views of past results.

The Republican Governor's Association went after Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire's most recent radio ad today, which features Sen. Barack Obama calling for the type of change in government Gregoire has produced in her first term.

The RGA begs to differ. In addition to mocking Barack Obama for vacationing in his home state of Hawaii and speaking to European audiences, they question his judgment in supporting Gregoire by hitting the governor on the topics state Republicans have been using to make their case against her, namely her negotiations with state tribes, a lack of results on certain road projects and the projected budget deficit.

The Gregoire camp responded later the same day, using the attack to tie Dino Rossi to President George W. Bush, citing that Bush has raised $10 million for the RGA.