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By some calculations, the next governor of Washington State will face a nearly $3 billion shortfall. This promises to be a top issue in Washington’s gubernatorial race.

But how much do voters care? And could it sway the election? Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins reports.

Republican Dino Rossi hopes to show that Governor Chris Gregoire overspent and put the state in the red. And that he’s the guy to save the day. Here’s an audio clip from his campaign website.

Dino Rossi: “Christine Gregoire’s budget has blown through the biggest surplus the state of Washington has ever known - $2.1B surplus. And turning it into a sizeable deficit for the next governor to face.”

The Rossi campaign, the Washington State Republican Party – and some talk radio hosts - are flogging the deficit number at every opportunity.

Gregoire recently called into the Dori Monson show on Seattle’s 710 KIRO and refuted the $2.7 billion number.

Chris Gregoire: “You can’t just take and assume as science that projections are real when it comes to doing a budget.”

The current deficit number comes from the non-partisan staff at the Washington State Senate Ways and Means committee.

While Gregoire disputes those numbers, her budget office has no plans to put out its own deficit forecast until after the November election.

We asked voters at a shopping center in Tumwater how much they care about the shortfall.

Jim Phillips is a retired bricklayer who’s undecided in the governor’s race.

Jim Phillips: “The deficit is a factor for me because I hate the way the bureaucracy in this state spends money like it’s theirs and not ours.”

Voter Suzanne Cosmo, a Gregoire supporter, says a $2.7 billion shortfall on a $30 billion budget isn’t a major concern to her.

Suzanne Cosmo: “I don’t think that is really a huge amount of money, it sounds like a big amount of money but I think in the big picture it isn’t.”

Independent pollster Stuart Elway says it’s not the deficit that will matter to voters as much as how we got into the situation.

Stuart Elway: “It does go to managing state government and stewardship of tax dollars and those things and that’s clearly how it’s going to be playing out.”
 
In other words – voters will want to know who’s to blame and how the next governor plans to balance the budget.