News · Press Release

ICYMI: Nonpartisan Election Watcher Declares Cathy McMorris Rodgers ‘No Longer Safe’

IRVINE – In case you missed it, today the nonpartisan Cook Political Report downgraded Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ re-election chances in WA-05, citing her weak grassroots support in Eastern Washington and her party’s unpopular agenda, combined with challenger Lisa Brown’s well-funded campaign.

“Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers is the very definition of what’s wrong with establishment politicians in D.C. – more concerned with pushing an unpopular Republican agenda than improving the lives of people in Eastern Washington,” said Drew Godinich, DCCC spokesperson. “While establishment Republicans like McMorris Rodgers are forced to defend their votes to strip healthcare away from millions of Americans and raise taxes on middle-class families to line the pockets of their millionaire and corporate donors, Democrats are going on offense and mounting strong, well-funded campaigns that can compete in new districts across the board.” 

You can read the full write up here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Rating Change: McMorris Rodgers No Longer Safe in WA-05

Cook Political // David Wasserman

Eastern Washington is not normally a place you’d expect a competitive House race, but in this political climate, problems for Republicans are popping up in surprising places. House GOP Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the only female member of the House GOP leadership elite since 2012, has been a high-profile supporter of the party’s legislative agenda. But as that agenda’s popularity has faded, so has her political security back home.

Washington’s 5th CD is centered on Spokane and has historically leaned Republican. It gave President Trump a 52 percent to 39 percent edge in 2016. At the same time, it reelected McMorris Rodgers by about 19 points over under-funded Democrat Joe Pakootas. In 2012, it voted for GOP nominee Mitt Romney 54 percent to 44 percent.

Yet the depth of support for McMorris Rodgers after 13 years in office is a bit of a question mark. Washington has a top-two system of elections, meaning the top two primary vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election. In 2016, McMorris Rodgers garnered a very weak 42 percent in the August top-two primary, while 15 percent went to fellow Republican Tom Horne, who railed against her as the “establishment.”

This year, Democrats have a very credible nominee in Lisa Brown, a former state legislator and university administrator who was most recently chancellor of Washington State University-Spokane. Brown, who was a state representative between 1993 and 1997 and a state senator between 1997 and 2013 (including as majority leader), has also taught economics and leadership classes at Eastern Washington University and Gonzaga University in the past.

Brown’s extensive ties in state politics and campaign experience helped her raise over $220,000 for the race by the end of September, while McMorris Rodgers only had $732,000 in the bank – not that impressive a sum for a veteran member of the leadership team. In a bit of a surprise, the Speaker Paul Ryan-backed Congressional Leadership Fund indicated last week that it would open up a field office in the 5th CD to shore up McMorris Rodgers.

[…]

There is plenty of time for McMorris Rodgers to shore up her image in advance of a possible wave. But she’s no longer the sure bet for reelection she’s been since 2006. The race moves from Solid Republican to the Likely Republican column.

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