Expect more McCain in the Evergreen State

U.S. Sen. John McCain: Photo by Getty ImagesPresidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee, is expected to come to Seattle in two weeks for a global warming event in what will be his first visit to the state since the Feb. 9 caucuses when he visited the Seattle Westin on a routine campaign stop.

The Democrats are already baring their teeth in advance of his visit, having sent out a press release this week highlighting what they say is his prominent role in Boeing's recent loss of a multi-billion dollar Air Force contract. State Chair Dwight Pelz even warned McCain not to come around here after that sour deal.

It turns out that the Democrats may have their hands full with candidate McCain this summer. The McCain campaign has recently said that they plan to seriously pursue Western states this election, notably the three West Coast states of California, Oregon and Washington.

"What happens is you target states early, you go work them, and when you get to the fall, some states drop off the list," senior McCain strategist Charlie Black told the Arizona Republic today. "But we're really going to go hard on the West Coast in California, Oregon and Washington."

The Arizona Republican undoubtedly thinks his own Western roots will be helpful in Washington, as will the strength of statewide Republican candidates in this otherwise blue state. In 2004 Republican Dino Rossi came within 133 votes of being governor, and Attorney General Rob McKenna, McCain's state chair in 2008, won by a wide margin. The most recent poll shows McCain losing to Barack Obama by 13 points here in Washington, but losing to Hillary Clinton by only three.

In 2004 Democrat John Kerry won the state by more than 200,000 votes out of nearly 3 million cast.