Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Monday, November 14, 2005

VICTORY GETS BETTER: Whatcom and Skagit counties join NO on I-912 camp

The latest results from the Secretary of State are in - and shockingly, two new counties have joined the NO on I-912 camp!

Whatcom and Skagit counties today joined many of their Western Washington neighbors in saying NO to Initiative 912. The tally in those counties:

Whatcom County
Yes on I-912: (18034 votes) 49.7764%
NO on I-912: (18196 votes) 50.2236%

Skagit County
Yes on I-912: (14479 votes) 49.6349%
NO on I-912: (14692 votes) 50.3651%

In our pre-election analysis, we determined that both Skagit and Whatcom counties were part of a bloc known as "swing" counties. This bloc had a history of voting for anti-tax initiatives, but according to the statistical data we had, they were the counties most likely to fall into our camp if we did a good job of campaigning.

With Whatcom and Skagit in our camp, there are only two counties that we identified as part of the swing bloc that we didn't capture: Spokane and Garfield.

All the other counties in the swing bloc - Snohomish, Thurston, Island, Jefferson, Kitsap, and now - Whatcom and Skagit - are voting NO on Initiative 912.

Additionally, we won a few counties that almost made it into the swing bloc but fell short of our cutoff mark, based on our statistical data. Those counties include Pierce, Clark, and Walla Walla.

The total vote percentage is on its way to 55% voting NO - a huge, huge victory.

Current statewide numbers:
Yes - 45.6454% (731,799 votes)
NO - 54.3546% (871,427 votes)

Additionally, we are winning all three counties we identified as strongholds - King, San Juan, and Whitman.

Thirteen of thirty nine counties, containing most of the state's population, are now voting against I-912. This is beyond incredible - it's simply unbelievable. A large coalition, working together and thinking creatively, has finally shut down the anti-tax zealots in a landmark victory.

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