Washington delegation comes in 20th in Congress power rankings

In new congressional power rankings released this week, Washington's delegation ranked 20th out of 50 states led by Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Patty Murray in the House and Senate, respectively.

The numbers for the study done by  the Knowledgis  company at the website Congress.org, come from a formula based on things like committee positions, tenure, the ability to influence agenda, legislative activity and earmarks.  As a result, party leaders carried substantially more weight in the study than the rest of their colleagues. Majority Leader Harry Reid led the Senate by a significant margin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi was considered the most powerful member of the House.

So it goes for Washington's delegation, as well. Within Washington's delegation, the highest ranking elected officials are the power wielding Democrats, and the most tenured at that. Sen. Patty Murray ranks 21st in the Senate, behind just one Republican, Jon Kyl of Arizona, and Sen. Maria Cantwell comes in at 48th, down slightly from her 2007 ranking of 36th. Murray has been in the Senate since 1992 and sits on the powerful appropriations committee, Cantwell since 2000.

In the House of Representatives, Washington's most influential Congressman is 32-year incumbent Norm Dicks, ranked 22 out of 435 followed by 9-time incumbent Jim McDermott at 39. Like Murray in the Senate, Dicks sits on the House Appropriations Committee. McDermott is a member of the influential Ways & Means Committee.

Rep. Jay Inslee is somewhat of a rising star in the Knowlegis rankings, coming in at 72 with a score nearly triple what it was in 2006. Following Inslee there is a significant drop off, with the remaining Democratic Congressmen in the middle of the House pack with Rep. Brian Baird at 212, Rep. Rick Larsen at 236, and Rep. Adam Smith at 252.

Predictably, the state's Republican delegation came in toward the bottom of the list. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Rep. Dave Reichert, 356th and 401st, respectively, are members of the minority party and have only two terms experience. Rep. Doc Hastings, a Congressman since 1994, leads the pack at 301st.

Based on the power criteria used in this model, these rankings stand to significantly change depending on the outcome of the 2008 election. If the Democrats remain in power, a shuffle is likely to occur based upon who the Presidential nominee is. If it is Barack Obama, early supporter Adam Smith could find himself in a much more prominent role, just as Jay Inslee would do in the event of a Hillary Clinton presidency. Inslee is one of her national co-chairs.