OLYMPIA — Washington residents spent the past year getting to know Donald Trump the candidate.
Now they have to figure out what is he going to be like as president and what it might mean for this state.
It’s anybody’s guess. Don’t expect clarity until he assembles a team of advisers to help with his transition into power.
“This is an interesting and distinctive election because this country has not had anyone since Dwight D. Eisenhower with so little a political record when they became president,” said Margaret O’Mara, an associate professor of history at the University of Washington.
With no resume, Trump will be able to cross party lines and bump up against political orthodoxy on issues of importance to him as he did in the campaign, she said.
The unknowns surrounding a Trump administration are a source of optimism, and concern, among the political class in Washington where Democrat Hillary Clinton garnered 56.7 percent to his 37.6 percent in ballots counted through Wednesday afternoon.
A drumbeat of Trump’s campaign was economic populism. He vowed to bring jobs back to America, rebuild the nation’s transportation infrastructure, renegotiate trade deals and reduce taxes on the middle class. All of that resonated in rural areas of this state where the economy has not rebounded as fiercely as in Seattle.
And his promise to bolster the United States military’s capability carries the potential of additional dollars for the naval stations in Everett and Oak Harbor, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
With Republicans in control of Congress, it makes it possible to Trump to advance his legislative agenda.
“He prides himself as a deal maker. This could mean good things for Republicans in Congress if he’s willing to negotiate and get things done,” said former state attorney general Rob McKenna, one of several GOP moderates who eschewed Trump throughout the campaign.
“The big question is how will Donald Trump choose to govern,” said Republican Chris Vance, who lost to Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray on Tuesday. He was the first candidate for statewide office to announce he would not vote for Trump for president.
“Republicans now have a whole new map of how you win a national election and they do not need the West Coast,” Vance said. “Washington becomes even more irrelevant than before because Donald Trump is not going to deal with (U.S. Sens.) Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.”
Trump’s approach on trade could be problematic for Washington, which relies heavily on exports to pay for public services and schools, said Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, of Everett.
“I’m very concerned about his trade agenda,” Larsen said. “We’re the most trade-dependent state in the nation and he’s not said many nice things about the value of trade.”
Larsen said Trump will be challenged to keep his pledge to rebuild the nation’s highways and transportation infrastructure.
Congress passed a “pretty robust” bill in 2015 authorizing five years of spending on projects, he said. It might need additional funding and it will fall upon the next president and Congress to agree on the source.
Trump will be hard-pressed to pump up the Department of Defense budget without sacrificing another of his promises, said Larsen, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee.
“I don’t see it happening because he has given the classic Republican promise on defense that we’re going to increase military spending, cut taxes and balance the budget and we cannot do all three,” Larsen said.
The leader of the state Republican Party thinks Trump’s presidency could pay dividends politically for the GOP in Washington — even though he’s going to lose the state.
“I believe if Donald Trump does a good job and Republicans (in Congress) serve well and improve the lives of all Americans, this will benefit Republicans here,” said Susan Hutchison, the party chairman.
On Wednesday, Trump led in 26 of 39 counties but Clinton was ahead in the three most populous counties, including Snohomish.
She garnered 56.2 percent in Snohomish County, ending election night with 36,000 more votes than Trump. She got nearly 68 percent in Edmonds, 59 percent in Everett, 69 percent in Mountlake Terrace and 61.5 percent in unincorporated areas in the county’s south end, according to an analysis of precinct data from election night.
Trump led in Gold Bar, Granite Falls, Sultan and Darrington and tallied 50.8 percent in the unincorporated areas in the county’s’ north end.
“We’ve been under Democratic administrations for eight years. That normalizes Democratic policies,” Hutchison said. “A Republican administration will normalize Republican policies.”
There are many young adults, especially in Seattle, who haven’t experienced a Republican presidency and if things go well, it might open their minds to supporting GOP candidates in future elections, she contended.
Scott North contributed to this report.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com Twitter: @dospueblos.
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