Kathleen Sebelius

With time quickly running down before next Tuesday's election, which is not just barely over a week away, both gubernatorial candidates are hard at work on the campaign trail.

Republican Dino Rossi and Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire have both announced extensive campaign tours to try to seal the deal in a race that has been neck and neck for much of the past seven months.

Rossi, who lost to Gregoire in 2004 by 133 votes in a hand recount after leading by decreasing margins in the first two machine counts, has been on a statewide "Road to Victory Tour" that commenced immediately after the fourth of five gubernatorial debates on October 10.

Gregoire, for her part, is following an equally grueling schedule. Her 11-day, 26-city tour began on Saturday at a rally with Native Vote, followed by a series of rallies with fellow female Governors Janet Napolitano (D-Ariz.) and Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kans.). 

DENVER - Michelle Obama, the wife of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, Tuesday oversaw a roundtable discussion at the Democratic National Convention on economic issues that affect women. It was a role she was very familiar with, having done dozens of these events across the country throughout her husband's campaign, including one in Washington earlier this year.

Obama was joined by a group of women from across the country who have faced economic hardships as well as four of the country's five women governors: Arizona's Janet Napolitano, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Delaware's Ruth Ann Minner and Washington's Chris Gregoire. Many of the governors said they have faced similar hardships in their own lives.

Despite the event being geared toward women, the roundtable had one surprise special guest - Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. It was just his second public appearance since his Barack Obama named him as his running mate in Springfield, Ill. this past Saturday.

The second day of the Democratic National Convention will be called to order at 5:00 PM EST today, with a theme of "Renewing America's Promise."  Featured speakers include Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kan.), U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.), Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.), and Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-Mont.). The keynote speaker will be Gov. Mark Warner (D-Va.), followed by the headline prime-time speaker, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

The full schedule is below.

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, and an air of smug satisfaction, the Gregoire for governor campaign issued a statement today apologizing for citing facts in their most recent television advertisement that have since been proven outdated.

The issue in question is the state's business climate ranking according to Forbes magazine. The ad states that Washington is the fifth best state in the union in which to do business according to 2007 rankings. 2008's list, which was released today, bumps the state up to third.

"We apologize to anyone who was misled into believing that Washington is the fifth best place to do business when, in fact, we are ranked third," said Gregoire press secretary Aaron Toso.