Jan Angel’s officially complicated, official Washington State Senate win.

So Nathan Wurtzel tipped me the wink that Jan Angel officially won her state Senate race in Washington State:

 

…and I went to look it up I got reminded of something: the Washington state GOP is playing a pretty good coalition game over there.

[Senate Majority Leader Rodney] Tom and his coalition that runs the Senate will welcome Republican Jan Angel as the group’s 26th member. Democrat Nathan Schlicher conceded the 26th District race Thursday after Angel’s lead widened to 1,543 votes on the third day of counting ballots.

Today, one vote is all that keeps the majority in the hands of 23 Republicans plus Democrats Tom of Medina and Tim Sheldon of Potlatch. Losing a single member risks allowing Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, a Democrat, to step in to break a 24-to-24 tie.

Let me refresh your memory on this one: back in December of 2012 the two Democrats traded caucusing with the GOP in exchange for the Democrats getting the leadership roles in the caucus; the Republicans got to get the good state senate chairmanships and the majority floor leader position. That last bit is important because that’s the guy who decides which bills go to which committees, which is another way of saying that no bill gets voted on unless the Washington State GOP likes it. It was, in other words, an EPIC betrayal of the Democratic party. To the best of my knowledge, the current majority caucus is perfectly fine with the deal, and have no desire to alter it further; but I suspect that the two Democrats in leadership are keeping it firmly in mind that now is not a good time to rock the Republicans’ boat…

Moe Lane

3 thoughts on “Jan Angel’s officially complicated, official Washington State Senate win.”

  2. Reminds me of the scummy deal then-state senator Abel Maldonado (R) cut here in CA: voting with the Democrats to pass tax-raising budget measures in 2009, in return for being appointed Lt. Governor. Nice to know turncoat-ism can sometimes work in our favor, too.

    PS: Abel is now running for Governor. He thinks 2009 will be forgotten. Boy, is he wrong.

  3. This reminds of the coalition that runs the New Mexico State Senate.

    It’s easy for us to see parties as monolitic on the national level, but things tend to get interesting when you drill down to the state/county level.

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