Cathy McMorris Rodgers

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted against the Wall Street bailout bill this morning by a count of 228-205. The split was bipartisan, with 133 Republicans and 95 Democrats joining forces to block the $700 billion supplement to the financial industry.

The Washington delegation was likewise split, though slightly more partisan with five of the six Democrats voting in favor of the bill, save for Jay Inslee (D-Bainbridge Island) who joined all three Republicans for the "no" vote.

MINNEAPOLIS - Kicking off today's delegate luncheon was a who's who of Washington state Republicans from the past two decades, constituting the party's past and its future.

Long time Secretary of State Ralph Munro, U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Spokane) and Party Chair Luke Esser all gave thanks to the party staff and delegates for their hard work and commitment to coming out to Minnesota to make the convention work.

Gorton, who represented the state from 1981-1987 and 1989-2001, went further than that and predicted great things for Republicans in the week ahead.

State Republican leaders greet delegates: Politicker photo

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Spokane), the 5th District Congresswoman who is Co-Chair of the Congressional Women's Caucus, issued a statement on Sen. John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin this morning praising the choice.

"Sarah Palin brings to the Republican ticket a unique and important perspective that is grounded in her role as a wife, mother of five, governor and someone who isn't afraid to shake up the status quo."

McMorris and Palin have a few things in common, besides their Republican Party membership. They both share the experience of having small children with Down Syndrome and have inland empire roots. Palin was born in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican from Spokane, will attend next week's Republican National Convention as a delegate for John McCain.

"It's my first Republican National Convention and I'm eager to represent Washington as I cast my vote for John McCain for President," McMorris Rodgers said in a press release. "John McCain is exactly what our country needs right now. He's a war hero who can keep our country safe from terrorists. He's a spending hawk who can cut the pork from our bloated federal government. And he's from the West and understands the importance of our hydroelectric dams. He knows how vital they are to this country's energy, irrigation and transportation needs and he is committed to protecting them." 

In addition to her delegate activities, McMorris Rodgers will be blogging about her experiences on her website, cathyforcongress.com. Read all about it there and here at PolitickerWA.com.

Rep. Cathy McMorris RodgersRep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Colville) launched her first round of television advertisements in the 5th Congressional District this week. The ad, called "American Energy", will be seen on cable channels throughout the district and touches on the two-term congresswoman's energy policies.

"We must take an ‘all of the above' approach to meet our current energy needs," McMorris Rodgers said in a statement. "That's why our ad highlights more than just increased drilling.  Not only must we open new sources of energy, but we must also focus on conservation, on renewables like hydro power and on increasing our capacity for new technologies such as wind and solar."

The ad can be seen online here, and the transcript found below.

Mark Mays5th Congressional District Democratic nominee Mark Mays went on the air today with his first set of radio advertisements of the campaign. The two ads will run for a week on Spokane radio stations KQNT, KEYF, KJRB, KIXZ, and KISC, and the campaign hopes to expand the buy later in August. Both ads look to introduce Mays to voters and target the voting record and campaign statements of incumbent Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Colville).

"While we think that Cathy is a good and decent person, we believe that her votes in Congress are detrimental to the voters and the residents of the 5th Congressional District in Washington State," Mays said in a press release announcing the advertisements.  "The policies of the Bush Economy are eliminating what was the middle class in America, and the divide between the haves and the have nots has grown even larger during her watch.  Cathy has voted with President Bush 96% of the time."

Washington's Congressional delegation spoke out in favor of today's decision by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' decision to re-open the bidding process for the Air Force KC-767 tankers. Airbus had won the initial contract, which would have cost the state's economy a significant amount of money, but the process was discovered to be flawed by the Government Accountability Office.

Representatives Brian Baird (D-03), Doc Hastings (D-04) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (D-05) have yet to speak on the matter. Links to and excerpts from the rest of the state's elected officials statements are below.

Mark Mays (D-Spokane) will give his campaign for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers' (R-Colville) 5th Congressional District seat a boost this month when he goes on a listening tour of the Eastern Washington district. His tour, similar ones of which were popularized locally by former Republican Rep. George Nethercutt in 1994 and nationally by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), will start this week in the southeastern corner of the district.

Mays will hit Dayton, Clarkston and Pullman on Wednesday, July 9, 2008. Full details can be found in the campaign's press release.

Washington's full delegation, with the exception of Rep. Brian Baird (D-Vancouver) spoke out on the Government Accountability Office's decision today to uphold the protest against the decision making process that led to a US Air Force tanker contract to go to Airbus over Boeing earlier this year.

The group unanimously celebrated the GAO's decision because of initial unfairness in the decision making process, and used their statements as an I-told-you-so to those who supported and helped usher the deal through.

"It has been clear all along that the process was flawed, as evidenced by the clear recommendations made by the GAO," said Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn). "This is a great victory for Boeing, Washington state and every American who values our nation's economic and homeland security."

Read all available statements below the jump.

The filing deadline for Washington's candidates for public office ended last Friday afternoon. The full list of filers can be found here at the Secretary of State's website. The Tacoma News-Tribune has also compiled the same list, but theirs is worth including because they denote the incumbent in each race, if applicable.

As with any filing period, there are a few surprises in terms of candidates who filed without formally announcing beforehand, but nothing major. Gov. Chris Gregoire is still seeking re-election, and Dino Rossi is still challenging her for a second time. Attorney General Rob McKenna and Democratic challenger John Ladenburg both remembered to get their paperwork in well before the deadline. The top races in the state before last week will remain the top races going forward.