2008 Presidential Campaign

Coming on the heels of a Seattle visit on John McCain's behalf by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez yesterday, Sen. McCain's campaign today announced the Washington Hispanics for McCain group, a statewide organization hoping to boost the presumptive Republican nominee's support among Evergreen State Hispanics.

"John McCain has a distinguished record of serving our country and he has proven that he understands the unique issues facing the Hispanic community," said Benton County's Tony Benegas, Washington Hispanics for McCain Chairman. "He is a man that all Americans can admire and trust for his willingness to put politics aside for the good of the nation."

Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign announced today that it will be opening its Washington state campaign headquarters next week in Bellevue.

They will host a grand opening event at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July, 15 at 2330 130th Ave. NE, Bldg C, Ste. 103.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama: Getty Images PhotoPresumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) leads Republican Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the latest Washington state presidential poll with 47 percent of the vote to McCain's 39, the Seattle P-I is reporting.

The poll, taken by the consulting firm Strategies 360, surveyed a relatively large sample of 1200 voters on June 26. In addition to the head-to-head, it also found favorability ratings of the two major party candidates. 54 percent of respondents reacted favorably to Obama compared to 37 percent negatively, while McCain had a 44 percent favorable and 46 percent unfavorable rating.

The margin of error for the poll was 2.75 percent.

U.S. Sen. John McCain: Getty ImagesPresumptive Republican presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), has released a strategy briefing with campaign manager Rick Davis outlining what they see will be the key issues and locations for the campaign in the fall, and how they might win them. Notably, the McCain camp singles out the Pacific Northwest as the one region in the country where the Iraq War is the top issue, compared to the economy that trumps all other issues nationally.

The presentation is also found on YouTube.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama created a minor media storm, very minor compared to Rev. Wright for instance, on Sunday in Pendleton, Oregon when he confessed at a campaign question and answer session that he was unaware of the problem with the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Cleaning up Hanford, which has required billions of dollars in federal funding and whose nuclear waste has the potential to dramatically impact the region if it escapes, is one of America's premier environmental issues.

A few days later, Washington Republicans continue to attempt to make Obama's foible a campaign issue here in the state. On Tuesday Washington State Republican Party Chair Luke Esser wrote a letter to supporters attempting to raise money on the issue.

Politics, especially when it comes to environmental issues, often crosses political boundaries. Such was the case Sunday in Pendleton, Ore. At a rally there, Barack Obama was asked about his policy regarding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation cleanup. Obama was stumped.

"Here's something that you will rarely hear from a politician, and that is that I'm not familiar with the Hanford site, so I don't know exactly what's going on there," he answered. "Now, having said that, I promise you I'll learn about it by the time I leave here on the ride back to the airport."

U.S. Sen. John McCain: Photo by Getty ImagesPresidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee, is expected to come to Seattle in two weeks for a global warming event in what will be his first visit to the state since the Feb. 9 caucuses when he visited the Seattle Westin on a routine campaign stop.

The Democrats are already baring their teeth in advance of his visit, having sent out a press release this week highlighting what they say is his prominent role in Boeing's recent loss of a multi-billion dollar Air Force contract. State Chair Dwight Pelz even warned McCain not to come around here after that sour deal.

It turns out that the Democrats may have their hands full with candidate McCain this summer. The McCain campaign has recently said that they plan to seriously pursue Western states this election, notably the three West Coast states of California, Oregon and Washington.