Republican James Watkins believed that tea party-fueled voter anger might help him end Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee’s winning streak in the 1st Congressional District on Tuesday.
Based on early returns, it was not to be. Inslee held a comfortable lead.
“Given what’s going on in the country right now, these are tremendous results, very satisfying results,” Inslee said.
Inslee, 59, was first elected in 1998 and has not been seriously challenged since.
The suburban district sprawls across south Snohomish County and north King and Kitsap counties, bisected by Puget Sound.
The district was once a swing district, formerly represented by Republicans Joel Pritchard, John Miller and Rick White as well as two Democrats who went on to become U.S. senators, Warren Magnuson and current Sen. Maria Cantwell.
The district’s history also failed to come to Watkins’ aid.
“I did expect it to be closer,” said Watkins, of Redmond, a former small- business consultant and Microsoft employee.
Watkins, 50, was inspired by the tea party movement to make a first-time try at elected office. He said high turnout in the Democratic-trending district may have hurt his chances.
With Republicans apparently winning enough seats nationwide to take control of the House of Representatives, Inslee could return to Washington, D.C., as a member of the minority party, as he was from 1998 through 2006.
“I’m always looking to work in a bipartisan way,” he said, noting a drug disposal bill he sponsored. “I think there are some big partisan opportunities in education.”
However, “we do not intend to go backwards on some of the progress that was made” on health care and Wall Street reform, he said.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
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