Rossi pleased with 'strong showing', ready for general election

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi has made a statement on tonight's electoral results. He said he was pleased with his showing, which so far is eleven roughly points higher than his 34 percent standing in 2004.

See the full statement below.

"We had a strong showing in the primary tonight. Current returns show we have received over 45 percent of the vote. To put these results into perspective, during the 2004 campaign I received just 34 percent of the vote in the primary and the General Election turned out to be significantly closer.

 

"Fewer than half of the voters who will vote in November cast their ballots in this primary.  Independent polls of all voters show this race is a statistical dead heat and I feel confident going into the General Election.  I'm happier having 45 percent tonight than the 34 percent we got in the 2004 primary.

"What matters is that we placed in the top two and now the General Election begins. We still have a long way to go until November and I will continue to talk about the issues that matter most to the people of Washington state, like addressing the budget deficit, fixing our transportation system, improving education, and keeping our communities safe.

"Christine Gregoire sees Washington state the way it is today and she is satisfied. In Christine Gregoire's Washington our economy is fine, there is no transportation crisis, she is satisfied with the education of our children, and she believes we are safe enough. In the end, Christine Gregoire is so satisfied with how things are today in Washington, that she wants us to have four more years of the same thing. I believe we can and must do better."