Gregoire camp hopes McCain negatives will boost coffers

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire: Photo by Getty ImagesOn the eve of Tuesday's visit from presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain, Chris Gregoire's gubernatorial campaign is hoping that ill feelings toward the Arizona senator will help its own electoral chances. They are hitting McCain on the state Democrats' main talking point: that he let down the Evergreen State economy by shepherding a large Air Force tanker contract to Boeing rival Airbus.

"Tomorrow, presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain comes to Washington for a $33,100/plate Republican fundraiser. Ironically, his plane lands at Boeing Field," Gregoire finance director Tracy Newman said in an e-mail to supporters. "Senator McCain led the fight in Washington D.C. to rescind a major contract awarded to Boeing to build tanker planes. Recently, a ‘new' contract worth over 9,000 Washington jobs and $40 billion dollars was awarded to a European company."

Furthermore, the Gregoire camp is trying to tie McCain to their Republican opponent.

"Gov. Chris Gregoire and our Congressional delegation are standing together and protesting this decision," Newman continued. "But our Republican opponent has been silent. He said nothing when the Bush Administration announced that 9,000 Washington jobs and $40 billion of our tax dollars were going overseas."

They hope the news of the Republican's big money fundraiser in Bellevue will spur Democrats into giving to the Gregoire campaign and adding to their large April haul of $1.3 million. However, the most recent polls show McCain with polling support in the low 40s in Washington. Although numbers like that won't win any two-candidate elections, they are far from poisonous.