Blog #3: Electoral Circumstances

 Will Patty Murray Serve a Sixth Term?

Last Election: 2016

General Election:

• Chris Vance (Republican) vs. Patty Murray (Democrat)
  

  

  
  
  
  

Washington Primary Election:

• Eric John Makus (Republican)
• Phil Cornell (Democrat)
• Scott Nazarino (Republican)
• Mike Luke (Libertarian)
  

Margin of Victory:

• Murray won with 59% of the vote- 1,913,979 Washingtonian voters
• Vance lost with 41% of the vote- 1,329,338 Washingtonian voters

In total 3,243,317 Washingtonians voted, meaning that only about 42% of the population voted in this election.

Notable storyline:

"Murray Overwhelms Vance, Both Move on in the Senate Race" 

    This article discusses how Murray had a big advantage over Vance. Most counties were on board to vote-in Murray once again (33 out of 39). Murray also had a very large advantage when it came to acquiring contributions for her campaign compared to Vance, with her amount coming to $11.4 million and his coming in at $293,000. 

Since we now know that Murray won the election, we can assume that the amount of money she received can demonstrate her overwhelming support in the state and that she may used that money to advertise herself more than her opponents.

Re-election Status

Seeking Re-election?

- Murray is seeking re-election for 2022!

Primary election outlook:

- Patty Murray (Democrat & very likely to be selected and move onto the general election)

- Tiffany Smiley (Republican & very likely to be selected and move onto the general election)

- Justin Greywolf (Independent)

- Robert Kirby (Democrat)

-  Nicolaus Sleister (Democrat)

General election outlook:

Most likely the general election will be between Murray and Smiley. 

Since Washington pre-dominantly votes Democrat, it appears very likely that Murray will be voted in for a sixth term in office.

Although, according to this article and video below,

    47% of Washington voters do not want Murray to run again using data from a poll that interviews 650 Washington adults. They believe that she has ran too long in the Senate, and that possibly a new candidate should be in the Senate. The article goes on to describe why Smiley is running for Senate, and then also displays how Murray will likely still be elected due to the things she has accomplished while she was in office.

Current Prediction

According to 270toWin, the prediction for Murray is that she is safe to be elected for a sixth term. Although, there is talk about electing someone new, so could be more of a lean.

2020 Vote

- Washington voted predominantly for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 with 57.97%

- Additionally, the governor of Washington, Democrat Jay Inslee, won with 56.6% of the vote

This could be great news for Murray, as Washington tends to vote Democrat!

Campaign Finance Status

From 2017-2022, Murray has raised close to $10 million dollars and spent $6.6 million of it for her campaign.

Bill Gates: Microsoft Founder
Jeff Bezos: Amazon Founder 

Her top contributors?

- Amazon with $71,000

- Microsoft with $52,000

Her top industries?

- Retired with $1.3 million

- Lawyers with $413,000

Major Issues

Murray's top issues include:

- Education, as she was a former educator

- Veteran's Affairs, as she was the daughter of a WWII Veteran

- Health Care, believes in wanting everyone to afford health care

- Environment, since Washington State is on the frontlines of the climate crisis

Mount Rainier in Washington :)