Oregon Public Broadcasting

The stage is set for a hotly contested U.S. Senate race in Washington. Three-term incumbent Democrat Patty Murray will face-off against two-time gubernatorial candidate and Republican Dino Rossi. They were the top-two vote getters in Tuesday’s primary.

At Murray campaign headquarters in Seattle, supporters cheered as the 18-year Senate veteran made an appearance. Murray is a top member of Democratic leadership in the Senate. She warned the crowd that Rossi represents a return to Bush-era policies.

Patty Murray: “Those policies put us in the hole that we are in today and we are digging ourselves out today step by step we’ve got more work to do, but let’s do it right. But let’s not go back to where we were.”

Across Lake Washington, in Bellevue, Rossi held a similar gathering at his campaign headquarters. He rallied his supporters with a call for limited government and personal responsibility.

Dino Rossi: “Will we allow this fundamental redefinition of our country to continue with Washington, D.C. directing our economy, controlling our economy, taking ever larger shares of our paychecks and borrowing from our kids and grandkids?”

Crowd: “No.”

Over in the Tri-Cities, the number three candidate in the Senate race, Republican Clint Didier, wasn’t ready to endorse Rossi.

Clint Didier: “We’re not even out of this thing yet. We don’t even know what’s happening here. Let’s just get through this one first, one step at a time.”

If you tally the votes for all the Republican candidates in the Senate primary, they equal what Murray received. The primary results are a snapshot of a neck-in-neck race that is being watched nationally. Election Day is eleven weeks away.