LD6

Arguably the most important function of legislative district-level elections is how, on the whole, they determine the makeup of the state legislature.

State Democrats have insurmountable leads in both the House and the Senate, but the question remains, will they extend their lead or will the Republicans make incremental moves back toward the center?

PolitickerWA.com put together a list of state legislative seats that have a chance at switching parties today. See them after the jump.

Opponents of Rep. Don Barlow (D-Spokane), who represents the 6th Legislative District, have created a website linking him to a state income tax because of comments he recently made at a League of Women Voters candidate forum, the Spokesman-Review's Rich Roesler reports.

At the forum Barlow said, "I think an income tax is an option right now. We need to take a close look at our system of budgeting. We're not coming up with enough dollars in order to provide quality programs for the, for the people.

"And I do think down the line an income tax is going to have to be looked at."

Roesler said that Barlow responded with a robocall to voters in the 6th clarifying his position, that he does not support instituting an income tax at this time.

Washington State Republican Party Chair Luke Esser weighed in on state legislative district politics yesterday, telling PolitickerWA.com which seats he thought were ripe for the picking.

In the state Senate, Esser said Republicans had very strong chances for pickups in the 2nd and 25th Legislative Districts. The 2nd District, which covers portions of rural Pierce and Thurston Counties, has Republican Randi Becker (R-Graham) taking on Democratic Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen (D-Eatonville), and in the 25th, which also covers eastern Pierce County, Michele Smith (R-Puyallup) is challenging Sen. Jim Kastama (D-Puyallup).

For the state House, Esser singled out Rep. Don Barlow's (D-Spokane) seat in the 6th Legislative District, retiring Rep. Patricia Lantz' (D-Port Orchard) seat in the 26th, retiring Rep. Fred Jarrett (D-Mercer Island) in LD41, Rep. Liz Loomis (D-Snohomish) in the 44th, Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) in the 45th District, and 47th District Rep. Geoff Simpson (D-Covington).

DENVER - The Democratic Speaker of the state House of Representatives, Seattle's Frank Chopp, is well known in political circles for his planning and dedication to building a long-term Democratic majority in Olympia. Just like with the Republicans, every other year provides a chance to gradually build up or chip away at the current lead, depending on what side you are on.

But despite all the projections and planning, did last week's "top two" primary results change the leadership's picture of which races to focus on going into November? Chopp says no.

In Spokane's 6th Legislative District, where Republicans are intent on recapturing Rep. Don Barlow's position 1 seat, which he won by a mere 260 votes in 2006 after narrowly losing to former Rep. John Serben in 2004, the heat is rising as the August 19 "top two" primary rapidly approaches. The Spokesman-Review's Richard Roesler reports on the race today, notably the online bickering between the two Republican opponents, Mel Lindauer and Kevin Parker, and their supporters.

Some of the key issues the two are battling are local ties, with Lindauer hitting Parker over time spent in the district, and money sources, with Parker highlighting Lindauer's heavily out of district fundraising. Right now both candidates have about $20,000 in the bank, and three weeks to differentiate themselves among Spokane Republicans as the best opponent for Rep. Barlow.

It may not be Karl Rove or Laura Bush, but Mel Lindauer (R-Spokane) is doing his best to bring in the bucks for his run at Democrat Don Barlow's 6th District seat. What he lacks in fame, Lindauer more than makes up in festivity.  read more »